Messi and the annoyance of the match against Croatia: how he gets to the final of the Qatar 2022 World Cup

The euphoria is over. The time to relax with the family is over. You have to start thinking about Sunday’s final. And that’s what he focused on. Lionel Scaloni and his coaching staff in the last hours, waiting to find out who will be the rival for which they will fight for the cup that everyone wants.

And the first thing to know is how is the team physically?. We know: there were just four days of rest between the grueling duel against the Netherlands, which went to penalties, and the semi-final against Croatia, resolved in 90 minutes and with a victory but with considerable mental wear and tear.

The good thing is that after those gestures and that relentless touch on the left hamstring that caused uncertainty during the match at Lusail Stadium, Lionel Messi is fine. He said it off the microphone in the press conference, he reiterated it in the mixed area with the recorders on and, according to what Clarín has been able to know, it is the same information that the technical staff manages.

It is true that the Argentine captain had a slight annoyance in the area. And that at a certain point he felt that the muscle was “loaded” as they say in sports jargon. But it’s even more true than if I had some major physical inconvenience couldn’t have done everything he did in the match. A player with a hamstring muscle problem doesn’t take Gvardiol for a walk like Messi did in the play before the third goal for the national team.

That little discomfort will surely force kinesiologists to get involved in the next few hours. However, anyone who thinks it might be impossible to be in the final is, right now, out of his mind.

Another good news is that Ángel Di María, who barely played the last ten minutes of extra time against the Netherlands Having felt uncomfortable against Poland, he hasn’t added any demands and has already left behind the left quadriceps problems that forced him to rest against Australia. Fideo was already one hundred percent ready to play against Croatia. Circumstances however meant that it wasn’t necessary and he will arrive rested in case Scaloni needs him for the final.

Rodrigo De Paul, who played just over 70 minutes on Tuesday before making way for Exequiel Palacios, is another one who is doing well. The Atlético de Madrid player, who also had a hamstring problem in his right leg, never showed any signs of being touched. It was decided to administer the physical loads only as a precaution.

Consequently, the only unknown that remains to be solved is whether Alejandro Gómez has left behind the sprained left ankle that left him out of 26 for the match against Croatia. Papu hasn’t changed as a player either, even though he followed the game from the bench after working various jobs during the week.

If Papu is discharged, Scaloni will be able to work as early as this Thursday with the full team. It is that, furthermore, Gonzalo Montiel and Marcos Acuña played well against Croatia with the suspension date and can be taken into account for the definition of Sunday. Up until now, the DT has used 24 of the 26 players who were on the final roster. Is that Juan Foyth, Ángel Correa and Paulo Dybala entered on Tuesday and all the players on the pitch already had minutes. Franco Armani and Gerónimo Rulli, the two substitutes in goal, are not yet in action.