The 42 reports from Dallas Stadium
Jordan 1
Argentina 3
THE PANG OF disappointment and self-entitled anguish was strong when confirmation came an hour or so before kick-off that Lionel Messi was not in Argentina’s starting XI for this dead rubber group game with Jordan.
It was quickly put into perspective.
Of the 70,649 that filled the Dallas Stadium some would have been lucky to get away with only needing to pay several hundred dollars for the privilege.
A lot more would have shelled out thousands.
The Messi Pilgrimage is big business and as sightings become rarer, he operates in his own dynamic pricing ecosystem. Genuflection comes at a cost, especially when you see him continue to make history as he did by becoming outright top scorer in World Cup history earlier in this campaign.
And just when the masses might have felt like they were going to be short-changed, Messi was summoned from the bench.
He rose from the dugout before the hour mark and stood waiting to be introduced as part of a triple substitution.
But the ball stayed in play. Messi stretched and limbered as his name echoed harmonically around the monstrous indoor venue.
People were getting impatient.
One fan hung over a railing and roared Messi’s name with a mixture of adoration and despair that he had not yet graced the field. He seemed close to tears.
When Messi then stood over a free kick on 80 minutes and curled the simplest of free-kicks around a lame wall and terribly-positioned goalkeeper, the place erupted.
Goal number six for this tournament to extend his lead at the top of the scoring charts, and now 19 overall.
For the first hour there was a strange atmosphere. Giovani Lo Celso scored a lovely free-kick of his own and Lautaro Martinez converted a penalty to give Argentina a first-half lead.
But everyone was waiting for Messi.
Feeling let down by not getting to see the greatest player of a generation is an understandable emotion.
Somehow believing you are owed the privilege of his presence to purely make this a worthwhile experience is a more concerning stance altogether.
That’s a worrying phenomenon among some in the modern game, although maybe given the prices of a ticket it is understandably harder to accept the usual sporting merit for squad rotation.
When the people give you $3,000 for a ticket on the top of 11 – 11! – different tiers in a monstrous stadium then should they demand to get what they really came for?
People want to be able to see Messi in the flesh because it will help bring some form of fulfilment.
He’s effectively a bucket list item to be ticked off at this stage. Just 20 seconds into the second half, with Argentina 2-0 up, fans started to chant his name in holy ritual.
Messi
Messi
Messi
They bowed and waved their arms in his honour.
Forty seconds after that his face was shown on both sides of the screen that is 160ft wide and 72 feet high.
The chanting grew louder.
People rose together. If there were donation buckets shared around the pews to put towards an appearance fee you can be sure they’d have been filled.
Maybe that’s an idea for Fifa. Introduce a tap and play feature for your favourite player with partners Visa for the next World Cup.
Gianni Infantino said this tournament would be like 104 Super Bowls. The nature of this contest showed that up for the vacuous spin that it is.
This was effectively a testimonial. Jordan had the wooden spoon and Argentina were confirmed as group winners after game two.
They will already have started their preparation for Cape Verde and Pico Lopes in Miami on Friday, 3 July.
The tape of this match will only be of use to Bubista and his staff in their planning for what Argentina will do without Messi.
They won’t be shocked to learn that if you give away silly free kicks near the edge of your own box he is capable of causing damage.
Although there is no chance Pico and goalkeeper Vozinha would allow a wall to be as poorly constructed as Jordan’s Yazeed Abu Laila.
Every few minutes until his arrival pockets of Argentina fans called out Messi’s name. It seems that they’re not quite at the stage of wanting to be able to say they were there to see the blossoming of Nico Paz.
On the hour mark they got their wish. Messi arrived as part of a triple substitution just moments after Jordan pulled a goal back through Mousa Al Tamari.
As if proof was needed that we were now in the presence of divinity, the stadium Wi-Fi that was performing as scratchily as Argentina’s second-half performance also began to work seamlessly.
Two of the most heartening moments when it comes to the belief that fans will rally against some of the absurd imposition of hydration breaks came when the players were sent to the side of the pitch by the referee.
The first came after 23 minutes of Argentina being pretty decent.
The game was in a flow.
And then the hydration break.
Loud boos instantly rang around the stadium. Argentina fans stood in disgust, waving their arms and flicking their wrists like they do whenever they chant or sing.
This was pure anger.
More jeers followed when they saw what appeared on jumbotron. Drummers and cheerleaders savoured their moment to shine.
Then came a version of the Macarena.
There was more anger for the second hydration break although the same razzmatazz was missing on the screen.
Instead, they panned around the crowd, adults and children in Messi shirts with one elderly gentleman holding a sign hailing him as “The World’s GOAT.”
Now Argentina’s thoughts turn to plotting a way to the final.
With the group stage concluded they can see their way to New York/New Jersey on 19 July.
Beat Cape Verde on Friday and it will be a trip to Atlanta for the last 16 to play either Australia or Egypt.
Portugal’s failure to top their group means a potential Messi v Ronaldo showdown for the quarter-finals in Kansas City is no longer an option. It’s hard to know how the world would have coped.
Instead, it will be one of Colombia, Switzerland, Ghana or Algeria, and then it may well be a semi-final with England or Brazil.
That’s just getting ahead of ourselves.
Pico and Cape Verde might have a spanner to throw in the works.
Written by David Sneyd and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here.