No mercy for Messi: Nigeria coach

France midfielder Paul Pogba said the finals in Russia might be his last World Cup but he hopes he will be fit for more.

"It might be my last World Cup," the Manchester United player, 25, told a news conference ahead of Tuesday's Group C final game against Denmark.

France have already qualified for the last 16 and will secure top spot if they avoid defeat.

"I'm realistic, we don't know if I'll be called up, maybe other players will be better than me," added Pogba.

"I hope I'll play more. I've already had the chance to play two, some can only dream to play one."

What a shocker it was! No football buff, I believe, saw this coming. Argentina, the powerhouse of world football, are on the brink of elimination this early from the World Cup in Russia.

A 3-0 thrashing at the hands of Croatia numbed the Albiceleste fans, who were rightly expecting the two-time world champions to regroup after the 1-1 draw against World Cup rookies Iceland and hit the right groove.

But the way they played was total rubbish, as our finance minister Abul Maal Muhith would have loved to sum up in disdain. Soon after the humiliation, social media and regular media were abuzz with cries and criticisms, wondering what had gone wrong with Jorge Sampaoli's men.

The scale of fury and frustration has gone up to an unbelievable extent, so much so that 'Don't cry for me, Argentina', the hit song of 1976 in the film Evita, returns to encapsulate the expressions of fans and media alike.

Right from the whistle go, Argentina, studded with superstar and stars, seemed like 11 cats on a hot tin roof. The famed footballers seemingly treated Telstar, the high-tech official football for the tournament, as a ball of fire. Too desperate to dispatch the ball the moment one received it. Defenders exchanged short passes too close to their ball-chasing opponents and went on to lose control of the ball several times in the opening half, drawing groans and grunts from the stands and from millions watching across the globe.

It was too dangerous and absolutely unnecessary. And Argentina paid the first price through their nose because of this madness. Following some short-pass exchanges, goalkeeper Willy Caballero scooped up the ball from deep inside the box for Croatian winger Ante Rebic to hit home perfectly. It was a gift to Croatia from a goof of a goalkeeper. And, for decades to come, it will be seen as one of the ugliest goals ever scored off a blunder.

A crucial match it certainly was. And Argentina could not cope with this pressure. They started off the game with pressure plastered all over their faces. They appeared too tense to think clearly and build a planned attack. The match required cool customers, from coach to keeper. Coach Sampaoli himself demonstrated the unwanted image of impatience. Tensed, Sampaoli was seen stomping around in front of the bench, throwing his hands, grumbling, gesturing, taking his jacket off and what not. This overly tensed image of a manager played a part in pushing his charges over the edge! As it happens in such matches, a staggering 38 fouls were committed, 16 of them by Argentina.

With Argentina being a bundle of raw nerves, Croatia could take total control of the match gradually. Luka Modric showed his opposite number Lionel Messi how a No 10 was supposed to play by hammering in a pile-driver after twisting and turning through a few defenders. Ivan Rakitic made it 3-0 some time after his magnificent free-kick ricocheted off the far post.

So, should Argentine daggers be out for Messi, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner and arguably the greatest player on earth? It will be very unfair.

Argentina is more than Messi. In fact, all the glittering stars of leading clubs make Argentina. Javier Mashcherano, Sergio Aguero, Enzo Perez, Eduardo Salvio, Gonzalo Higuain, Angel di Maria, Paulo Dybala and so on. Together, they should have formed a team of Invincibles.

Unfortunately, Sampaoli, like his predecessors, failed to mould his players into a team. They played like listless individuals and without any objective. They were eleven players but still not a team. Here the role of a coach becomes so crucial. Sampaoli failed to play that role. He also appears not to be a good tactician.

Argentina didn't have a game plan. If they had one, they forgot about it as soon as they entered the field. They played like disjointed pieces of a machine. Defence was delinked from midfield and midfield oblivious of its forwards. The supply from midfield to Messi or other forwards was almost nil. Argentina was designed to fail.

Croatia advance to the round of 16, and Argentina hope against hope for a miracle in Group D to qualify as the other team. And if that does not happen, the World Cup would be less exciting without Messi.

The writer is former Sports Editor of The Daily Star 

Argentina legend Diego Maradona wished Lionel Messi on his 31st birthday through an Instragram post. Maradona posted a picture of him with Messi and captioned the image with a short dedication that read `Happy Birthday, Leo Messi’ accompanied by two emoji gifts:  a cake and an arm with a closed fist, as a sign of strength.

Maradona Supported Messi on his last match against Croatia, where the Argentine playmaker came under intense criticism from his countrymen.

Messi’s team mates and friends also celebrated his birthday, he was presented with birthday cake by Argentina team-mates as some of them posted some pictures with Messi on social media. Sergio Aguero wished Messi a happy birthday with a post on his Instagram. The 31-year-old also took time out to meet some of his team-mates' children.

Argentina are gearing themselves up for their final group game against Nigeria which will be held tomorrow at 12 pm in Bangladesh time.

Sweden's preparations for their World Cup clash against Germany have been hampered by a stomach bug that has prevented three players from travelling to Sochi, where Saturday's game will be played.

Coach Janne Andersson revealed that defenders Pontus Jansson and Filip Helander, along with midfielder Marcus Rohden, were left behind at the team's tournament base further up Russia's Black Sea coast in Gelendzhik to avoid any danger of the illness spreading.

However, the hope is that they will recover to come to Sochi in time for the match.

"We have split the squad. We didn't bring them on the flight because we didn't know what had made them feel a bit queasy, but they will travel tomorrow," Andersson said at a press conference at Sochi's Fisht Stadium on Friday.

Sweden's team doctor said in a statement on the official Swedish FA website that the trio were "on the mend".

Of the three, only Leeds United defender Jansson played in Sweden's opening 1-0 win over South Korea, and that was because Manchester United's Victor Lindelof was ill.

Lindelof has travelled to Sochi and could return against Germany but there is a doubt over striker Isaac Kiese Thelin, who has an ankle problem.

While Sweden, who qualified for the finals after ousting Italy in a play-off, come into the game in a strong position, Germany are on the brink of a full-blown crisis.

A defeat at the hands of Mexico in the first match of their trophy defence means they cannot afford another slip-up in Group F on Saturday.

"This is really what you spend your whole career and life working towards. It is an extraordinary opportunity to be involved in a World Cup match like this," said Andersson.

"Whether we knock out Germany is one thing, but we have a chance to qualify and that is extraordinary."

Brazil fans mocked Lionel Messi and celebrated Argentina’s defeat as they were singing `Messi Ciao’ (Goodbye Messi) in St. Petersburg on Thursday night. The Selecao fans parodied the famous Spanish song Bella Ciao (O darling goodbye).

The fans are always interested about how their rivals are doing in tournaments like Copa America and the World Cup.

Lionel Messi cut a lonely figure as Argentina fell to a demoralising 3-0 defeat at the hands of Croatia at which has left their qualification hopes hanging by a thread.

Both Brazil and Argentina drew their opening games at the 2018 World Cup. Brazilians however found something to celebrate as they mocked Argentina’s star player.