Desert fest: Argentina get their mojo back

Clenched teeth, head lowered. That is how Lionel Messi returned to the dressing room after his first-half penalty was saved by Wojciech Szczesny. If that is how things had ended, it could have been Messi's last World Cup game. But his team had other ideas.

The momentum that Argentina had carried to the World Cup after a 36-game unbeaten run screeched to a halt following a stunning loss to Saudi Arabia in the World Cup opener. With over 40 minutes of play left in that game, Argentina failed to find an equaliser.

Then came the Mexico match where a lacklustre first half was followed by an equally ineffective team performance in the second half. It took a blinding strike from the talismanic Lionel Messi to keep them in the World Cup.

With no semblance of team processes finding their way onto the pitch, the feeling was that it would have to be Messi again who had to do it all. That is where Argentina once more surprised.

As the playmaker, Messi is a large part of how Argentina build their attack. With only a win being a sure-fire way to go through a very tricky Group C, the Albiceleste started with promise.

However, the pressure on Messi was surreal as opponents easily realised how to keep Argentina at bay by keeping the number 10 on a tight leash. Thus, Messi committed to make his presence felt very early with a few slaloming runs and Poland hoped their defences would hold well enough to get a draw.

With Poland sacrificing the ball in favour of being organised at the back, Argentina finally found the time they needed on the ball to get some much-needed faith back in their game.

Two youngsters in midfielder Enzo Fernandez and forward Julian Alvarez started the game against Poland after good performances against Mexico and, with Argentina finding their rhythm with the ball, the two youngsters gradually grew into the game.

However, when Messi's penalty was saved, it appeared that a World Cup campaign already burdened by an onrush of nerves at critical moments would finally be derailed.

But having found their process in the first half, Argentina showed some real rhythm to their play and immediately pounced in the second half with the first goal. The Argentine midfield ran riot, creating space and, instead of taking the burden of all attacking pursuits, Messi settled into his natural playmaking role, making line-breaking passes and keeping defenders on their toes whether on or off the ball.

Argentina racked up a huge number of passes and stunningly recovered their style of play. A 27-pass move ensued, the ball was swept from left to right, Messi turned and left two Polish players in his wake before releasing a pass down the right and Argentina then isolated Enzo one-on-one down the left half-space. From there, he dinked a pass between two defenders and through to Alvarez for a goal that evoked memories of Argentina's 27-pass goal in the 2006 World Cup against Serbia.

Argentina as a team finally showed up at the World Cup, giving Messi that extra cushion in the second half with World Cup on the line.

"We found confidence to trust our game again. It cost us in the first few matches but hope we can maintain this," Messi, who found that rhythm along with his team, said after the game.