Barcelona World Cup Spotlight: Lionel Messi drops a masterclass against Memphis, de Jong

One can make a strong case that the Qatar World Cup is right up there among the best World Cups in history. If the group stages were not exciting enough, the knockout matches have brought with them a unique flavour with a real sense of uncertainty and suspense.

On Friday night, Brazil and Argentina took on Croatia and Netherlands, respectively for a spot in the penultimate round of the competition.

The South American side took the lead in both games, and an unbelievable European comeback followed to take both games to penalties.

In Brazil’s case, the spot kicks did not go to plan. Marquinhos’ and Rodrygo’s missed chances proved costly and sent Tite’s side home, thus eliminating the tournament favourites.

Meanwhile, Lionel Messi’s Argentina conceded a last-second equaliser and were forced to go to penalties by Louis van Gaal’s side. However, Emiliano Martinez was there for his side as he saved the first two penalties to give Argentina the early advantage and later the win.

Barça Universal brings you an overview of the performances of Barcelona players and legends on the night.

Raphinha (Brazil vs Croatia)

Brazil had no dearth of attacking talent heading into their Quarterfinal against Croatia, yet were faced with their biggest test yet given that the Europeans were amongst the most organised teams in the tournament.

The big difference between the Selecao’s games against South Korea and Croatia arguably came on the wings. While Raphina and Vinicius ran riot on the wings against Hueng-Min Son’s side, they struggled to influence the game in any way last night. Raphinha, in particular, was underwhelming.

He took part in the first 56 minutes of the game after receiving the start and failed to register a single shot on the night. Further, he had no key passes to show for and completed just 18 passes in that duration. 

Nothing tangible arose from the Brazilian right-wing, and Raphinha could be held responsible for that. Antony, who replaced him in the 56th minute, went on to have a great performance despite the result.

Dani Alves (Brazil vs Croatia)

The Barcelona legend stayed on the bench for the entire 90 minutes as Tite opted to play conservatively and trust Eder Militao.

Lionel Messi (Argentina vs Netherlands)

Lionel Messi is dropping one of the best individual Word Cup campaigns that the competition has seen, all at the ripe age of 35. The Argentine ace now has four goals and two assists in five games and is a strong candidate for the Golden Ball award.

Against The Netherlands, Messi was at a whole new level. He was quite clearly the difference between the two sides and showed the world why he is the greatest to have ever graced the field.

He began his magic in the 35th minute when he received the ball close to midfield. Seeing no direct vertical passing options on the table, he took a few casual touches beyond the reach of the Netherlands midfield before dropping his shoulder and threading the ball through the Dutch defence.

His pass, nothing short of enchanting, fell straight to Nahuel Molina in front of the goal, who made no mistake.

Messi got onto the scoresheet himself midway through the second half through a spot kick won by Marcos Acuna. Faced against Noppert, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner passed the ball beyond the goalkeeper’s reach and into the back of the net.

He recorded two shots on target, and three off target, had one shot blocked and provided three key passes.

Further, he put in a tremendous defensive shift with ten duels won to help his side win back the ball. In the decisive penalty shootout, he calmly slotted the ball past Noppert to help Argentina get within two games of euphoric glory.

Frenkie de Jong (Argentina vs Netherlands)

On a night when Lionel Messi carried Argentina’s creativity in the centre of the park, Frenkie de Jong performed that role for the Oranjes.

The Barcelona midfielder was heavily involved in his team’s buildup, and it seemed like no sequence of passes was complete without contacting his boot.

He had 101 touches in 120 minutes and completed 83 passes with an accuracy of close to 91%. He completed four out of five attempted long balls and was an indispensable part of the Netherlands’ press with six defensive actions.

Not to mention the innumerable number of piercing runs he made through the middle of the park that broke the Dutch midfield multiple times.

Such a performance would be considered flawless for most players, but one must say a little more was expected of De Jong in the final third. His passes were accurate and vertical but lacked the cutting edge and did not cause much trouble for most of the game.

Memphis Depay (Argentina vs Netherlands)

The Barcelona forward had a forgettable evening at Lusail Stadium and failed to make any sort of difference on arguably the biggest game of his career so far.

In 78 minutes, he failed to record any shots despite getting into good positions behind the Argentine defence. To make matters worse, he failed to complete any of his three attempted dribbles.

He was eventually replaced by Wout Weghorst, who turned the game on its head by scoring two goals for the Oranje side and forcing extra time.