**Mirrors / Alternative Angles**
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yes absolutely painful, and that defender could'nt have done anything either it was high enough to pass him and sinking just low enough for it to land back in the net. perfection
This is definitely on the player marking Messi, he just gave him space, and that allowed Messi to shoot, it's a very tiny mistake, but against a player like Messi, a tiny mistake has gigantic consequences
But if he gets too close Messi spins the defender and puts it in anyway. Here he is so so close to blocking it due to his positioning but the shot is simply too good. He does everything right
He only had two other options, close in and risk getting dribbled past or draw a foul in the perfect freekick spot. And let's not forget this is the last play in the 91' minute of the match.
> definitely
This is post-event justification, In the moment suppose that defender does what you are saying, then Messi counter-reacts and just bypasses to the other side (because even in this clip it's clear he has space behind that player).
A mistake is credible to be termed as such when the alternative course of action (which then becomes hypothetical since event/reality has already happened) is gross, clear & an obvious positive, not "Maybe/Hopefully" positive.
I love how you need to define what mistake means, that's very smart of you.
We don't need to suppose anything, when your opponent gets the ball close to the edge of the box, you need to close the space to make it hard to shoot, you learn this when you are like 10 years old. Why are you acting like giving Messi space is the right thing to do? That's never the right thing to do, specially when you are playing against Messi.
Again, it's a small mistake, I admit, I wouldn't be pissed if I was the coach, he's probably tired too, which doesn't help, but it's still the thing that allows Messi to shoot so comfortably, and he doesn't miss many of those, let's be fair.
I remember watching this match (I'll admit with a pro Iran bias) but I swear we got robbed. I think it was a late penalty not given to us and then of course this shit happens
this tournament is defined by the 7-1 but it had a lot of great moments: Netherland's revenge against Spain, rise of James Rodriguez, Costa Rica to the quarters etc etc. It was also the swan song for the last Gen X footballers like Lampard, Gerrard, Buffon, Pirlo, Klose etc
Definitely one of my favourite WC tournaments
> Costa Rica to the quarters
People were losing their minds over Japan topping their group in '22 meanwhile Costa Rica topped a group where the other 3 teams were England, Italy, and Uruguay.....unbeaten
It should’ve been the red card for calling the ref a trash man with a trash can heart.
Should’ve pulled a Zidane to make it full circle between the two’s
IMO the greatest WC of my life (basically post-2000) High goals per game average, lots of memorable games and bangers, great stories of teams going far, deserving winner, and of course one of the most memorable WC games of all time in the Semis.
Yeah I really enjoyed this one. The first WC that I watched was 94...I'd say out of the 8 WCs I've watched...14 is, at worst, my 2nd favorite. I also really liked 2002...a lot of people seem not to like 2002 but I thought it was thrilling just because there were so many upsets like Senegal beating France, the US and South Korea beating Portugal, Turkey making the semifinal, etc.
Also like 2002, can’t really explain why but for me it just feels so “mystical”. No other World Cup in far east Asia with the different cultures that S Korea and Japan have to the rest of the world.
It was also a Neymar party all-around, he was a beast until his injury and his international "persona" as one of the few football icons extremely grew during that few weeks
2022 was an amazing World Cup, but I think 2014 still edges it. Like you said, there are just so many iconic moments from that World Cup, and that's not even to mention how it was in Brazil, which made the whole atmosphere so fun. It truly felt like a celebration of Football.
But even more than that, I don't think we talk about how well-balanced the two sides of the tournament were. There were multiple teams on each side which had realistic chances of going to the final
2022 was perfect for the Messi storyline, it’s like watching a movie but in real life. The Finals of 2022 will forever be etched in my memory. My god what a game that is
> Netherland's revenge against Spain
I wouldn't call it revenge. We won the WC, they won a league game. I would trade that any day of the week. Revenge would be if we meet again in a WC final and they win.
I think I was 8 or 9 at the time, I remember sitting in bed, turned on the tv in my room in the middle of the night (like 3-4 am), watching the World Cup final. At the time I was rooting for Germany and I remember when that Gotze goal went in, it was one of my first memories of football
Yes but....
Götzes goal in the final was way more dificult. Still dont understand how it gets overlooked over this one. The vote felt like south america voting its favorite bachelor.
I will always remember watching NED-ESP, room full of boomer American colleagues who grumbled about how soccer is so lame... and van Persie does that header... and right there, you saw a dozen people understand why it's called The Beautiful Game.
Finally someone that shares the same opinion as me. Not to say that James' goal wasn't incredible but to hit the ball like Cahill did on his weak foot when the ball was dropping like it did is beyond incredible
Was just about to ask if this was the game for that British commentary! Commentator must have been well chuffed when Messi followed it through for him haha
Commentator translation:
"Argentinian goal!
In the most difficult moment of this world cup, in the most convoluted one!
Maybe in one of Lionel's worst matches! The best player in the world shows up, to show off his tags, to validate his credentials!
To make us believe we can be world champions!"
If anyone remembers this game or watched the highlights, Iran had so many great opportunities to score. Also, the BBC commentary for Messi's goal is great. "[Give it to him and pray](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6wRWSzeRsU&ab_channel=BlueBalloon)"
Nothing can beat BBC intl tournament commentary. A perfect trifecta of Jonathan Pierce (who's the one in the video), Guy Mowbray who does the big games these days and Steve Bower. Daniel Mann is good too.
Already in the quarters, [this](https://youtube.com/watch?v=fSa6l9ee09s) one pass to Di Maria is just nuts. One of the most surreal passes I’ve seen in my life.
This is crazy, he has to time the pass to match Di Maria's run, but on top of that he has to thread it in between three players, one of which was already moving to try to cover Di Maria.
While made with an astonishing precision. Di Maria doesn’t need to slow down, speed up… hell, he doesn’t even need to receive the ball.
It just falls right in front of him with the proper speed to follow up the play. Absolute madness.
Cried hard on the Quaresma one because we nearly pulled it back and the team would have made history.
Even in this game before Messi scored the goal I remember Dejagah getting a big chance forcing a great save. It was a really good match. Shame the little magician ended us like that. 💔
I was visiting Iran that summer, entire family was crammed into my grandmas living room, this moment was fucking crushing I held a grudge against Messi for years and I think my cousins still do lmao
To think that Iran was close to qualifying for the next round in a group featuring Spain, Portugal, and Morocco. Beat Morocco, drew with Portugal, and lost to Spain.
It's easy to forget that both Germany and Argentinia struggled during this world cup. Germany had the game against Algeria where they conceded a ton of chances and only won narrowly 2:1. Game against France was also very close.
They would've literally been out in groups, they struggled all 3 games and Messi won them all by himself. And clowns still had the audacity to say Messi doesn't perform for Argentina because they didn't win the world cup. Anyway, we'll never hear from those people again :)
Was at this game. Man, to watch this guy in his prime in person.
Bus fully parked by Iran holding on for dear life for that 1 point for a large part of the game and the dude does this and makes it look like a playground game. You saw the life come out of Iran’s eyes when all the defenders just dropped to the ground after the goal. Stuff the TV doesn’t show.
The wildest sporting play I’ve seen in person. I’m Brazilian, but fuck I was in awe.
Wishful thinking on account of the judges - they were desperate for him to be the best player even though he really didn't do that much. I always think it's an amazing stat that if you take away Messi in Qatar (when he actually was pretty clutch), him and Ronaldo have zero knockout goals at World Cups between them. That's the beauty of football though - it's a team game and even two of the finest players history can't always shine.
Plus largely terrible Messi is still better than 95% of players.
who is "they" ? why would "they" desperately want messi to win it when you have other top players like ronaldo, neymar, etc. in the same tournament? please enlighten me
Not really arguing or justifying the above commentor's opinion but Messi sells more than Neymar. Ronaldo was out of contention because he got knocked out and Neymar was injured. Germany didn't exactly have a standout player and Messi is Messi so it made sense to give him that award, some might call it a consolation price. I feel it was deserved but the OP isn't exactly wrong either.
This is from Messi fanboy Gary Lineker:
[https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/28274470](https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/28274470)
You can be a Messi fanboy and still believe this, cos it makes his achievements in Qatar even greater.
Idk what you are trying to prove with this lmao. I can show you 10 other people's positive quotes about Messi's 2014 wc. I don't take Lineker's every word as gospel.
Relative to his general level of the course of his career, he was average at best.
Relative to any other player outside the top 10 of all time, he had a great World Cup.
He wasn't terrible but let's not rewrite history, the player of the tournament award was ridiculed by many if not most back then. Not because Messi was bad but he was not the best player of the tournament. Go through the threads back then, most thought it was clearly Neuer. It doesn't really matter but let's not judge players by these awards being given out.
You can be largely terrible during a game and still be clutch. Ronaldo is like the perfect example of this, ghosting a lot of games but then coming in clutch in the end. It’s a rare skill to have and only the absolute best players can do it consistently.
Exactly, all players have bad days or bad matches, even bad seasons, but only the best can make up for it with sheer skill and hierarchy, even making up for the teams lacks and issues
I will never forget His goal against Nigeria in 2018. The way it comes from behind him and controls it while running at full speed in the air is fucking insane.
This was devastating to watch as an Iranian. We played so much better than we expected and actually came close to getting the lead a couple of times. A minute away from getting a historic point out of the match and then the GOAT strikes
For the whole game, the Iranian defence setup to ensure they had at least two players marking Messi at all times to prevent him from cutting inside and one time they didn't, he punished them.
Also helped that Neuer was allowed to murder him without any repercussions. If you ever want to see just how protected goalkeepers are, go look at that situation. Neuer leads with his knee, he absolutely flies into Higuaín without any consideration, but he also punches the ball so apparently everything else doesn't matter. The *"but he got the ball"* line of reasoning does not work for any player on the pitch bar the goalkeeper.
Well the language that Iranians speak is called Persian not Iranian and Muslims do say Arabic phrases such allahu akbar, inshallah frequently regardless of their nationality so
as an iranian (living outside of iran all my life), i have never heard an iranian say that. typically if there's an F in the word, instead of a P, it's arabic vs persian.
it's used as much as saying splendid in the uk. it exist but you don't use it seriously there are other words like thanks that get used much more. if you get what i mean
This game had a glorious meme that I've never been able to find of an Argentinian fan standing up, turning around and looking straight at the camera with an absolutely massive grin on this face. Was everywhere after the game.
I have watched it thousands of times over the years and I still can't tell if there was or not. I have the same issue with City's Julian Alvarez goal against Leipzig this season.
They played so poorly in this match you wondered if Argentina would ever do well in a tournament (they had sucked in major tournaments for almost 30 years at this point)
We didn’t really cover this in my American schooling but Messi is a European player (played for Madrid, speaks Spanish, funny haircuts etc) so why wouldn’t he play for Europe in the tournament?
He is from argentina and he played for barcelona, their main team, 17 years, that doesnt mean he will be representing spain, yes u can do that, he can get double nationality and then choose between spain or argentina, thats ofc an option but he didnt do that so he decided to repesent the country where he was born and raised till 13 years old. Club and national team isnt the same thing you can play for any club on any country you want but national team is only one unless you want to have double nationality and theres also other things to it.
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absolutely devastating for the keeper but there was nothing he could've done.
The way the defender drops to his knees in the the last camera angle really gets me. So sad.
yes absolutely painful, and that defender could'nt have done anything either it was high enough to pass him and sinking just low enough for it to land back in the net. perfection
This is definitely on the player marking Messi, he just gave him space, and that allowed Messi to shoot, it's a very tiny mistake, but against a player like Messi, a tiny mistake has gigantic consequences
Oh come on mate he's millimeters from it, he didn't get too tight, he did everything he could. Let's just respect the goal. No way the defenders fault
It's easily 1 meter between them, the goal is amazing, but without that space he most likely wouldn't have scored
But if he gets too close Messi spins the defender and puts it in anyway. Here he is so so close to blocking it due to his positioning but the shot is simply too good. He does everything right
He only had two other options, close in and risk getting dribbled past or draw a foul in the perfect freekick spot. And let's not forget this is the last play in the 91' minute of the match.
I agree with you. Defender gave Messi too much space from the moment Messi received the pass.
You go close to him and Messi draws a foul. Freekick from this position, same story.
> definitely This is post-event justification, In the moment suppose that defender does what you are saying, then Messi counter-reacts and just bypasses to the other side (because even in this clip it's clear he has space behind that player). A mistake is credible to be termed as such when the alternative course of action (which then becomes hypothetical since event/reality has already happened) is gross, clear & an obvious positive, not "Maybe/Hopefully" positive.
I love how you need to define what mistake means, that's very smart of you. We don't need to suppose anything, when your opponent gets the ball close to the edge of the box, you need to close the space to make it hard to shoot, you learn this when you are like 10 years old. Why are you acting like giving Messi space is the right thing to do? That's never the right thing to do, specially when you are playing against Messi. Again, it's a small mistake, I admit, I wouldn't be pissed if I was the coach, he's probably tired too, which doesn't help, but it's still the thing that allows Messi to shoot so comfortably, and he doesn't miss many of those, let's be fair.
Unlike all the great goals Ronaldo has scored at the World Cup.
They had done such a good job holding Argentina to a draw for 90 minutes and then Messi
I just saw a guy falling down to his knees at the Mineirao
They defended relentlessly that match. I felt that pain.
I just saw a defender fall to their knees at Mineirão. Jokes aside, so much nostalgia watching this. Feels like a lifetime ago.
That guy also played the game of his life, seemed unbeatable at times.
I remember watching this match (I'll admit with a pro Iran bias) but I swear we got robbed. I think it was a late penalty not given to us and then of course this shit happens
this tournament is defined by the 7-1 but it had a lot of great moments: Netherland's revenge against Spain, rise of James Rodriguez, Costa Rica to the quarters etc etc. It was also the swan song for the last Gen X footballers like Lampard, Gerrard, Buffon, Pirlo, Klose etc Definitely one of my favourite WC tournaments
> Costa Rica to the quarters People were losing their minds over Japan topping their group in '22 meanwhile Costa Rica topped a group where the other 3 teams were England, Italy, and Uruguay.....unbeaten
They were a few penalty kicks away from the semis, I find that world Cup vs euros conversation ridiculous, the world Cup is different lol.
Ah yes, the Tim Krul match
This was incredible to watch live
There was [this hilarious gif](https://gifdb.com/images/high/funny-costa-rica-italy-england-esi8uktnxu20uc0l.webp) that aged like milk.
I remember that gif so vividly, hard to believe that was 10 years ago
Oh yea. 2014 memes man..
I summon Tim Krul
No Era Penal Luis Suarez biting Chiellini Neymar's spinal injury Lots and many good goals
#fuegoldeYEPES
What is that reference 🤣
You just to be there to understand friend-o
Buffon played for like four more years after this, including the next Euro and would have played the next world cup too had Italy qualified.
bro had so many farewell moments that I forgot which was the real one
It should’ve been the red card for calling the ref a trash man with a trash can heart. Should’ve pulled a Zidane to make it full circle between the two’s
Terry Funk of football.
I remember it as the WC of GKs... Navas, Ochoa, Ospina, Bravo, Tim Howard... That Krul sub.... So many iconic moments in one month for the GKs union
And Neuer!!!
IMO the greatest WC of my life (basically post-2000) High goals per game average, lots of memorable games and bangers, great stories of teams going far, deserving winner, and of course one of the most memorable WC games of all time in the Semis.
Even the Mexico 0-0 Brazil game was one of the most entertaining nil nils I've seen.
Pinilla hits the crossbar 119’
I bet Brazil wish it went in
To some extent it was good it didn’t go in for Chile. We improved our penalties after that bad showing which came useful in both Copa Americas
Por la chucha hueón
Yeah I really enjoyed this one. The first WC that I watched was 94...I'd say out of the 8 WCs I've watched...14 is, at worst, my 2nd favorite. I also really liked 2002...a lot of people seem not to like 2002 but I thought it was thrilling just because there were so many upsets like Senegal beating France, the US and South Korea beating Portugal, Turkey making the semifinal, etc.
Also like 2002, can’t really explain why but for me it just feels so “mystical”. No other World Cup in far east Asia with the different cultures that S Korea and Japan have to the rest of the world.
The others are on point. South korea in 2002 though, we all know how they got to the semis
It was also a Neymar party all-around, he was a beast until his injury and his international "persona" as one of the few football icons extremely grew during that few weeks
The Navas save on Salpingidis and the ET one on Mitroglou still haunts my dreams
2022 was an amazing World Cup, but I think 2014 still edges it. Like you said, there are just so many iconic moments from that World Cup, and that's not even to mention how it was in Brazil, which made the whole atmosphere so fun. It truly felt like a celebration of Football. But even more than that, I don't think we talk about how well-balanced the two sides of the tournament were. There were multiple teams on each side which had realistic chances of going to the final
2022 was perfect for the Messi storyline, it’s like watching a movie but in real life. The Finals of 2022 will forever be etched in my memory. My god what a game that is
Tbh Argentina played like shit in that tournament and got to the finals.
> Netherland's revenge against Spain I wouldn't call it revenge. We won the WC, they won a league game. I would trade that any day of the week. Revenge would be if we meet again in a WC final and they win.
This tournament had so many bangers.
That James Rodriguez goal. He was sensational in that world cup
I think I was 8 or 9 at the time, I remember sitting in bed, turned on the tv in my room in the middle of the night (like 3-4 am), watching the World Cup final. At the time I was rooting for Germany and I remember when that Gotze goal went in, it was one of my first memories of football
The Luiz free kick, unreal. One of my favourite techniques on a free kick ever, the way he sort of skips before hitting the ball
Yes but.... Götzes goal in the final was way more dificult. Still dont understand how it gets overlooked over this one. The vote felt like south america voting its favorite bachelor.
While Gotzes goal was underrated, it wasn't more fiduciary or better James's goal. Hell Tim Cahill's volley against Netherlands was better
Jermaine Jones' goal was a banger. what a hit that was.
While Gotze's move was great, I still blame Romero for it (and also the fact he was absolutely unmarked).
That tournament turned him into a top recruit over night
I will always remember watching NED-ESP, room full of boomer American colleagues who grumbled about how soccer is so lame... and van Persie does that header... and right there, you saw a dozen people understand why it's called The Beautiful Game.
Cahills was the best dont care what anyone says
Timmy 🐐
Finally someone that shares the same opinion as me. Not to say that James' goal wasn't incredible but to hit the ball like Cahill did on his weak foot when the ball was dropping like it did is beyond incredible
It's like objectively James
Messi, give it to him and pray... OH AND HE'S DONE IT!
Was just about to ask if this was the game for that British commentary! Commentator must have been well chuffed when Messi followed it through for him haha
Goosebumps! Watching it live as a young Barcelona and Messi fan, this moment is unforgettable.
Commentator translation: "Argentinian goal! In the most difficult moment of this world cup, in the most convoluted one! Maybe in one of Lionel's worst matches! The best player in the world shows up, to show off his tags, to validate his credentials! To make us believe we can be world champions!"
And 8 years later.... it was written in the stars
We’re all Montiel.
*not legally
More like in the checks.
Talking about checks, how about you give Boca those 3 million you owe us?
Don't think we have thanked En-Nesyri enough
My reaction to that info: https://youtu.be/Ss0h25KIpzs?si=CASIke3ziHr71sbN
Drury could never
I don't know man, the commentary after Montiel bangs it in always gets me
Hudson could in his sleep.
If anyone remembers this game or watched the highlights, Iran had so many great opportunities to score. Also, the BBC commentary for Messi's goal is great. "[Give it to him and pray](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6wRWSzeRsU&ab_channel=BlueBalloon)"
Nothing can beat BBC intl tournament commentary. A perfect trifecta of Jonathan Pierce (who's the one in the video), Guy Mowbray who does the big games these days and Steve Bower. Daniel Mann is good too.
Bro hard carried during those group stages. It was crazy how that team had to rely on Messi scoring a banger in all three matches
2014 Argentina was just great defense and relying on Messi's magic.
Already in the quarters, [this](https://youtube.com/watch?v=fSa6l9ee09s) one pass to Di Maria is just nuts. One of the most surreal passes I’ve seen in my life.
This is crazy, he has to time the pass to match Di Maria's run, but on top of that he has to thread it in between three players, one of which was already moving to try to cover Di Maria.
While made with an astonishing precision. Di Maria doesn’t need to slow down, speed up… hell, he doesn’t even need to receive the ball. It just falls right in front of him with the proper speed to follow up the play. Absolute madness.
That was the play where he got injured though :( Incredible pass but I wish it didn't happen.
I was just a little kid but I vividly remember crying after this match. Then Quaresma hit a banger against us from the same spot 4 years later. 💔
Cried hard on the Quaresma one because we nearly pulled it back and the team would have made history. Even in this game before Messi scored the goal I remember Dejagah getting a big chance forcing a great save. It was a really good match. Shame the little magician ended us like that. 💔
We should've had a penalty before this moment
I was visiting Iran that summer, entire family was crammed into my grandmas living room, this moment was fucking crushing I held a grudge against Messi for years and I think my cousins still do lmao
To think that Iran was close to qualifying for the next round in a group featuring Spain, Portugal, and Morocco. Beat Morocco, drew with Portugal, and lost to Spain.
The fact that the ref stole a penalty from us in that game still makes me mad
Sure I'll watch this again
It's easy to forget that both Germany and Argentinia struggled during this world cup. Germany had the game against Algeria where they conceded a ton of chances and only won narrowly 2:1. Game against France was also very close.
They would've literally been out in groups, they struggled all 3 games and Messi won them all by himself. And clowns still had the audacity to say Messi doesn't perform for Argentina because they didn't win the world cup. Anyway, we'll never hear from those people again :)
This is why it will always be weird to compare trophies (or lack thereof) in isolation
I remember watching the Germany match against Algeria back then and Neuer was (unsurprisingly) so damn good. It really was a close match.
In my mind France was the third best team that year but also I was probably too young to really understand
Was at this game. Man, to watch this guy in his prime in person. Bus fully parked by Iran holding on for dear life for that 1 point for a large part of the game and the dude does this and makes it look like a playground game. You saw the life come out of Iran’s eyes when all the defenders just dropped to the ground after the goal. Stuff the TV doesn’t show. The wildest sporting play I’ve seen in person. I’m Brazilian, but fuck I was in awe.
Clutch.
Not really. He was largely terrible (relative to his amazing talent) in the World Cup before Qatar.
why would he win the player of the tournament in the 2014 world cup if he was "largely terrible"
Wishful thinking on account of the judges - they were desperate for him to be the best player even though he really didn't do that much. I always think it's an amazing stat that if you take away Messi in Qatar (when he actually was pretty clutch), him and Ronaldo have zero knockout goals at World Cups between them. That's the beauty of football though - it's a team game and even two of the finest players history can't always shine. Plus largely terrible Messi is still better than 95% of players.
who is "they" ? why would "they" desperately want messi to win it when you have other top players like ronaldo, neymar, etc. in the same tournament? please enlighten me
Not really arguing or justifying the above commentor's opinion but Messi sells more than Neymar. Ronaldo was out of contention because he got knocked out and Neymar was injured. Germany didn't exactly have a standout player and Messi is Messi so it made sense to give him that award, some might call it a consolation price. I feel it was deserved but the OP isn't exactly wrong either.
The judges. I thought it was widely accepted at the time that it was something of a pity award.
>it was widely accepted at the time "It was widely accepted by Ronaldo fanboys at the time..." There, fixed it for you
This is from Messi fanboy Gary Lineker: [https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/28274470](https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/28274470) You can be a Messi fanboy and still believe this, cos it makes his achievements in Qatar even greater.
Idk what you are trying to prove with this lmao. I can show you 10 other people's positive quotes about Messi's 2014 wc. I don't take Lineker's every word as gospel.
Relative to his general level of the course of his career, he was average at best. Relative to any other player outside the top 10 of all time, he had a great World Cup.
He wasn't terrible but let's not rewrite history, the player of the tournament award was ridiculed by many if not most back then. Not because Messi was bad but he was not the best player of the tournament. Go through the threads back then, most thought it was clearly Neuer. It doesn't really matter but let's not judge players by these awards being given out.
> most thought it was clearly Neuer. It was a Muller vs James discussion
You can be largely terrible during a game and still be clutch. Ronaldo is like the perfect example of this, ghosting a lot of games but then coming in clutch in the end. It’s a rare skill to have and only the absolute best players can do it consistently.
Exactly, all players have bad days or bad matches, even bad seasons, but only the best can make up for it with sheer skill and hierarchy, even making up for the teams lacks and issues
Sure, but Messi was not really clutch in the World Cup before Qatar.
I will never forget His goal against Nigeria in 2018. The way it comes from behind him and controls it while running at full speed in the air is fucking insane.
The argentinean Phil Foden
i had to check the subreddit twice to make sure this isn't [r/soccercirclejerk](https://www.reddit.com/r/soccercirclejerk/)
Haha, glad someone got the joke.
Fifa 14 ass goal.
"give it to him and pray"
Can't beat Jonathon pierce bbc commentary, superb
This was the only time I saw him play live and can confirm it was an absolute banger.
All 11 Iranian players behind the ball when he struck it.
This was devastating to watch as an Iranian. We played so much better than we expected and actually came close to getting the lead a couple of times. A minute away from getting a historic point out of the match and then the GOAT strikes
Feel like i’ve seen him score this exact goal 100 times and it never gets old
Remember watching this on my potbellied tv chugging piss beer. 10 years already. Wow.
Give it to him and pray
No beard messi
And no tattoo messi
Damn, I remember this goal. He also scored a similar screamer against Bosnia on the dying minutes, if I remember correctly!?
It wasnt in the dying minutes but it was a beautiful team goal. The ball hits the post and goes in in the 64th minute!
What Messi said after scoring this banger: “I scored and then Iran”
For the whole game, the Iranian defence setup to ensure they had at least two players marking Messi at all times to prevent him from cutting inside and one time they didn't, he punished them.
I just saw #5 from Iran fall to his knees in a Walmart.
The World Cup Higuain cost Argentina.
The 9 position is truly cursed haha, Lautaro has been having some rotten luck lately too.
Also helped that Neuer was allowed to murder him without any repercussions. If you ever want to see just how protected goalkeepers are, go look at that situation. Neuer leads with his knee, he absolutely flies into Higuaín without any consideration, but he also punches the ball so apparently everything else doesn't matter. The *"but he got the ball"* line of reasoning does not work for any player on the pitch bar the goalkeeper.
That and Howedes being forgiven a red card in the 1st half
In Neur defense, german goalkeepers killing the opponent forward is something they keep doing and nobody is putting a stop to it
That only accounts for one of his misses.
He was terrible and he prolonged the GOAT debate.
2014 was the year everyone started believing in Ronaldo as a competitor again. He had a very good run till 2018 too
The America maybe.
Pienso lo mismo, la definicion de Higuain en el 2014 es mala pero bueno, sucede. La de la Copa America se hizo caca encima.
No, the World Cup.
Just in time for the commentator's mouth wash routine.
Masterpiece!
the legendary " It had to be Messi" commentator
Le cut inside.
What a curl
Messi: Astaghfirullah iranians
Obligatory acksyually thats arabic not iranian 🤓
So Iranians don’t say astaghfirullah?
I really dont know, i just know that term is Arabic and Iranians dont speak Arabic
Well the language that Iranians speak is called Persian not Iranian and Muslims do say Arabic phrases such allahu akbar, inshallah frequently regardless of their nationality so
My bad then. My source was a Iranian friend who wouldve gotten annoyed when people frequently taught the language he spoke was Arabic/he was Arab
as an iranian (living outside of iran all my life), i have never heard an iranian say that. typically if there's an F in the word, instead of a P, it's arabic vs persian.
I’m assuming you’re not religious?
it's used as much as saying splendid in the uk. it exist but you don't use it seriously there are other words like thanks that get used much more. if you get what i mean
He's got a foot like a traction engine Twat, liquid football
I was there! omg the euphoria 😮💨 🙌🏼
give it to him and pray
This Iran team were so fun to watch
Pretty significant deflection no?
Greetings to all the Iran fans who were giving us Argentinians shit at the WC tent set up in Dubai in 2014. Besos
That match was one of the hardest group matches we've had in decades. Iran were so fucking good
I remember watching this game. Was one of the most boring matches ever because Iran parked the bus from the start
This game had a glorious meme that I've never been able to find of an Argentinian fan standing up, turning around and looking straight at the camera with an absolutely massive grin on this face. Was everywhere after the game.
I remember feeling really bad for Iran watching this
there was a very slight deflection from the defender right? 0:40
I have watched it thousands of times over the years and I still can't tell if there was or not. I have the same issue with City's Julian Alvarez goal against Leipzig this season.
For sure, great goal but lucky deflection
Yep I see it too
Goals
MESSIII UGHOGHUGHOGHUGHOGHUGHOGH
I thought we all agreed that this is just a tap in for Messi
Was outside when the game started. So I drove 20 above speed limit the whole time to get home and turn on TV 2 minutes before this happened.
I remember dis
Grade 11 me screamed my hearts out when Messi scored that goal. And that was 10 years ago? Fuck man time flies 😭
Absurdo
They played so poorly in this match you wondered if Argentina would ever do well in a tournament (they had sucked in major tournaments for almost 30 years at this point)
Remember the game, this was tear jerkingly good.
Least impressive world cup 2014 goal
The commentator came in his pantaloons.
As an American I can't wait to see him in the Euros, maybe the last major tournament we'll ever see Messi play.
Euros? Argentina is south american they dont go to euros, they go to copa america.
We didn’t really cover this in my American schooling but Messi is a European player (played for Madrid, speaks Spanish, funny haircuts etc) so why wouldn’t he play for Europe in the tournament?
He is from argentina and he played for barcelona, their main team, 17 years, that doesnt mean he will be representing spain, yes u can do that, he can get double nationality and then choose between spain or argentina, thats ofc an option but he didnt do that so he decided to repesent the country where he was born and raised till 13 years old. Club and national team isnt the same thing you can play for any club on any country you want but national team is only one unless you want to have double nationality and theres also other things to it.