With the great ones, the magicians, it only takes a moment. Momentum means nothing - only the moment.
For the first hour of the match, Bosnia-Herzegovina had kept Lionel Messi contained (no shots on goal in the first half). They had shaken off an unimaginably bad start to control play for the better part of the game.
And then, it happened.
In the 65th minute, Messi took the ball through the middle of the pitch. A precise pass ahead to find Gonzalo Higuaín between two defenders, followed by an immediate dash towards the goal. Messi seemed to intercept the one-touch back pass, cutting in front of a teammate to ensure that this chance would have every opportunity for success. Then things got good.
As he moved right to left along the 18-yard line, Messi had one man on his right hip, trailing just slightly, and another coming up in his face. A quick feint and impeccable control with that magical left foot of his forced the incoming defender to attempt a desperate spinning heel tackle. Needless to say, Messi was in the clear, something that could not be said for the trailing defender who was upended in a manner reminiscent of Daniel LaRusso - the Karate Kid - in the "sweep the leg" incident.
The tumbling bodies gave Messi all the space he needed to fire a lefty shot from the 18-yard line that couldn't have been placed any better, striking the inside of the left post before ricocheting across the face of the goal and hitting the side net on the right:
Messi's emphatic celebration showed how much the goal meant to him. After being shut out in South Africa in 2010, the goal doubled Messi's World Cup total and gives hope that this is the year that Messi's magic comes to the game's biggest stage. The goal also highlighted the impact of the tactical shift of the Albiceleste, moving from a conservative 3-5-2 to a 4-3-3 that offered Messi more options in the attacking zone. Almost all of Messi's action in the first came one-on-many as he had little support, while less than 10 minutes into the half Messi was facilitating a much more effective attack, setting-up Sergio Agüero on his right foot for an open look (launched into the stratosphere on a terrible touch by Agüero) and then probing the defense up the middle before finding Ángel Di María with space on the left hand side for a dangerous cross.
Up 2-0, the Albiceleste were effectively in control, giving up a goal to Vedad Ibišević in the 84th minute, but never in great danger of giving up the equalizer.
While his first half was unremarkable, Messi was involved in the opening score, the earliest own goal in World Cup history. Messi took a free kick from near the left sideline just beyond the 18-yard line that appeared to be flicked on by teammate Marcos Rojo as it crossed in front of the goal. The slight redirection struck Bosnia's Sead Kolašinac in the calf just as he was turning to sight his marked man, ricocheting into his own net less than three full minutes into the game.
From that point until Messi's goal, Bosnia-Herzegovina matched the Argentines at every step. In the first half, in fact, Bosnia-Herzegovina's #10, Zvjezdan Misimović, had as much impact as Messi, finding Izet Hajrović on a run into the 18 that could have easily led to the equalizer with a touch more control, and earning a free kick from just outside the 18 less than a minute later. They almost pulled even again in the 41st minute. A skillful run by Hajrović down the right side earned a corner for Bosnia-Herzegovina. The out-swinging service was met cleanly and at full speed by the head of Senad Lulić, with the resulting near-post rocket barely fended off by Argentina's keeper. The Argentines were surely happy to head into the break with their lead intact.
And while Messi's goal will surely be the highlight of this match, the story to watch was, in fact, the evenness of the match. As an overwhelming favorite in the weakest group in the tournament, the World #2 Argentina has been expected by many to advance to the final where they might oppose their neighbor to the north (who just so happens to be hosting this tournament). The Albiceleste will need to be in better form - with Messi more effective from the opening minutes and his supporting cast stepping up and capitalizing on the opportunities that he creates - to reward the Argentine fans who have made their way into enemy territory to cheer on their squad this World Cup.
