LIONEL MESSI led the dressing room chorus of an Argentina victory song that referenced Diego Maradona, HIMSELF…and the Falklands.
After Messi’s brilliant opener lifted the tension to set his side on track for the vital 2-0 win over Mexico, Lionel Scaloni’s players’ celebrations were long and loud.
With Aston Villa keeper Emi Martinez jumping up and down on a table in the middle of the room, Messi and the rest of the squad roared out a chorus of the new chant.
The song, which references Argentina’s most heartbreaking defeats and greatest triumphs, started: “I was born in Argentina, land of Diego and Lionel, of the kids from the Malvinas that I will never forget.”
It ended: “Boys, now we are excited again, I want to win the third, I want to be world champion.
“And we can see Diego, in heaven encouraging Lionel.”
The sheer scale of the dressing room joy, shared by Lautaro Martinez, Paulo Dybala and even coach Lionel Scaloni, summed up the relief of the entire squad after their shock opening defeat by Saudi Arabia.
Scaloni’s players had been angered by the backlash from home, with even Messi in the firing line, and with extra pressure coming as Saturday’s game coincided with the second anniversary of Maradona’s death at the age of just 60.
But the little man from Rosario delivered when it mattered, scudding his breakthrough left-footer into the bottom corner of Guillermo Ochoa’s net to level with arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo on eight World Cup goals, the same total scored by Maradona.
Messi said: “The days since the Saudi defeat were very long for us - we were desperate for the chance to turn things round.
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“We all knew we were out if we didn’t win but now it is a weight off our shoulders, a reason for joy and peace of mind because it is all down to us again.”
That joy and peace of mind was evident by the post-match revelry but it was looking very different before Messi struck with 20 minutes to go.
He admitted: “The first half was difficult because of how much we needed to win. We couldn’t find space and were not moving the ball.
“We were rushing too much and made too many mistakes. The key was to stay calm.”
Former Manchester United man Angel Di Maria conceded the solution to Argentina’s crisis was, as ever, fairly obvious.
He said: “The important thing is to always help Messi.
“When we do, he ends up solving the problems.
“Before the goal he told me to look for him and he did what we needed.
“We knew that they were going to fall off because of the way they played in the first half and it happened as we expected.
“Scaloni said the spaces would start to appear when they got tired and he was right.”
The shock back home after the Saudi game had been exacerbated because of Argentina’s previous 36-game unbeaten run, stretching back pre-pandemic to 2019.
But the backlash had angered the players too, with midfielder Rodrigo De Paul snapping: “Some people forget for 30 minutes what has happened in the past three and a half years.
“We invite those who were not on the boat with us to get back on it.”
