NIZHNY NOVGOROD, Russia (AP) — Lionel Messi’s frustrating international career may be coming to an early and anti-climactic finish after Argentina’s worst loss in World Cup group play in 60 years.
With Diego Maradona watching from the stands, the 2014 runners-up were routed by Croatia 3-0 Thursday. The Croats are moving on to the round of 16.
Messi got off only one shot in a defeat that pushed Argentina to the brink of elimination. Messi, who turns 31 on Sunday, has never won a major title with Argentina’s senior national team despite of decade of championships with Barcelona and five player of the year awards.
“He is our captain, he leads the team and we quite simply couldn’t pass to him,” Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli said. “We work to give Leo the ball, but the opponent also works hard to prevent him from getting the ball.”
Messi also missed a penalty kick in his team’s opening 1-1 draw against Iceland.
Argentina, hurt by the poor play of goalkeeper Willy Caballero on Thursday, had not lost by such a large margin in the first round since a 6-1 defeat to Czechoslovakia in 1958. Caballero gained the starting role because No. 1 keeper Sergio Romero injured his knee last month in the run-up to the tournament.
“We have to swallow the poison,” Argentina midfielder Javier Mascherano said. “The game says it all.”
Argentina, which has not missed making the second round since 2002, has not been eliminated. But the two-time champions need to win their next match against Nigeria on Tuesday, as well as get help from other matches.
Thursday’s humiliating loss came in humiliating fashion for one of soccer’s most storied nations.
Caballero mangled a clearance and kicked the ball toward Croatia defender Ante Rebic, who one-timed it into the net in the 53rd minute.
Caballero buried his face in his hands while a giant television screen showed Maradona doing the same.
“After they scored on us, we were emotionally broken,” Sampaoli said. “I had a lot of hope. I am extremely hurt by this defeat, but I probably didn’t understand the match the way I should have.”
And it got worse as Argentina crumbled, frustrated by the Croatian defense. Modric scored with a hooking shot in the 80th and Ivan Rakitic added the third in stoppage time.
Croatia frustrated Argentina throughout the match and never gave Messi space to operate.
“Argentina wasn’t confused. We were excellent,” Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic said. “We beat a great Argentina with the best player in the world playing, Messi.”
Croatia, which reached the 1998 World Cup semifinals but has not advanced past the group stage since then, will face Iceland on Tuesday in Rostov-on-Don.
“Let’s keep our feet firmly on the ground and prepare for the next matches,” said Modric, the man of the match. “We should be focused on what awaits. Every next game is going to be more difficult, but our main objective has been reached. It looks easy, but it was not that easy.”
Argentina won the World Cup in 1978 and 1986 — the last with Maradona as the star player — but has not won any major title in 25 years. The Argentines also lost in the last two Copa America finals.
GROUP DYNAMICS
Croatia has advanced with six points from two matches in Group D, while Argentina has only one point and is facing elimination.
Iceland also has one point, and Nigeria has zero. Nigeria and Iceland play on Friday.
KEYS TO SUCCESS
Croatia stymied Messi for 90 minutes, not allowing even one shot.
The Croats played with five midfielders and seemed to close down any possible space.
Before the match, Dalic said this was going to be Croatia’s “easiest game.” He clarified that by saying it would not be an “easy opponent” but it would be a “pressure-free match.”
MESSI OR RONALDO?
Sampaoli didn’t want to choose when asked if Cristiano Ronaldo was the best player in the world.
“I think Cristiano is a great player. You can look at all he has achieved as a player for his club and his country,” Sampaoli said. “Right now we shouldn’t compare these two players ... Leo is limited because the team doesn’t gel ideally as it should. As coaches we need to realize these things and I am the one who needs to accept that.”
FRANCE 1, PERU 1
YEKATERINBURG, Russia — Kylian Mbappe’s first World Cup goal put France into the round of 16.
The teenage forward tapped in a ball headed toward goal in the 34th minute to give France a 1-0 victory over Peru.
At 19 years and 183 days, Mbappe became the youngest scorer in France’s World Cup history.
With two wins from two matches in Group C, France is through to the next round with a match to spare while Peru has been eliminated.
France coach Didier Deschamps made a pair of tactical adjustments after an underwhelming performance in the team’s opening win over Australia. He put Blaise Matuidi and Olivier Giroud in the starting lineup but kept his same 4-3-2-1 formation with Giroud out front.
Both used their speed and passing to expose gaps in Peru’s backline.
Paolo Guerrero started for Peru after coming off the bench in the opening loss to Denmark. He came out with energy, but he cooled down after receiving a yellow card in the 23rd minute.
Guerrero nearly missed the World Cup before having his doping ban lifted by a Swiss judge prior to the tournament. France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was one of three opposing captains, along with Australia’s Mile Jedinak and Denmark’s Simon Kjaer, who signed a letter to FIFA supporting the lifting of the ban.
Guerrero had one of Peru’s best chances in the 87th minute from a free kick, but his attempt went right at Lloris.
After getting very little out of the three-prong attack of Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele in their opening win, the French trio was active in Yekaterinburg.
Griezmann had a pair of opportunities stopped within the first 15 minutes, with Mbappe and Dembele consistently getting past Peru’s defense to set up scoring chances.
But it was midfielder Paul Pogba who opened things up for Mbappe’s goal. Pogba beat his defender and found Giroud with a perfect pass. Giroud then chipped it for Mbappe to easily tap it past goalkeeper Pedro Gallese.
Energized by the tens of thousands of Peruvian fans, the South Americans tried to match Les Bleus’ intensity early but were outshot 12-10 with only two of Peru’s chances on target, with two others blocked.
Both teams play their final group stage matches on Tuesday. Peru will face Australia in Sochi while France takes on Denmark in Moscow.
AUSTRALIA 1, DENMARK 1
SAMARA, Russia — Mile Jedinak’s penalty kick gave Australia a 1-1 draw against Denmark and new life at the World Cup.
Christian Eriksen scored in the opening minutes for Denmark, which has gone unbeaten in 17 straight international matches. But Jussuf Poulsen’s handball after a video review set up Jedinak’s opportunity in the 38th minute.
Going into the tournament, No. 36 Australia was the lowest-ranked team in Group C with the others all in the top 12.
With a loss to France in the opener, a defeat Thursday would have made it nearly impossible for the Socceroos to advance to the next stage. Denmark, meanwhile, won its first match against Peru.
BRAZIL’S NEYMAR TO START AGAINST COSTA RICA
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — Neymar will start for Brazil in a mostly unchanged lineup against Costa Rica today at the World Cup.
Although Brazil coach Tite said Neymar still needs time to reach peak shape, he insisted he is not endangering the striker’s health.
“Yes, he will be playing. There’s no sacrifice here,” Tite said through a translator Thursday. “We want to win but the coach is not going to play around with a player’s health, the price would be too high to pay.”
Tite was expected to use the same 11 players that were held to a 1-1 draw by Switzerland in the team’s opening match, but right back Danilo got injured in the team’s final training session on Thursday and will be replaced by Fagner.
