He’s considered one of the greatest players in the world right now but Lionel Messi couldn’t really be having a worse World Cup if he possibly tried.
The 30-year-old Argentina captain led his side to a pretty uninspiring 1-1 draw against Iceland last Saturday. And then yesterday, at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, the South American side suffered a humiliating 3-0 loss against Croatia.
This is the first time since 1974 that Argentina have failed to win either of their opening two group stage matches.
If they have any chance at all of qualifying for the final 16, Argentina must now beat Nigeria and hope Croatia defeat Iceland.
And now Maradona, another Argentinian legend of the game, is weighing in to slam his national side and effectively blaming them for abandoning Messi on the pitch.
Messi and Maradona back in the World Cup in 2010
According to journalist Juan Arango, Maradona told reporters after the crushing Croatia defeat: “When I played and had a bad game… [Jorge] Valdano, [Jorge] Burruchaga showed up and had my back. Messi has no one. It’s all on his own.”
Maradona, who famously knocked England out of the 1986 World Cup with the ‘Hand of God’ goal, was so distraught after the loss against Croatia that he appeared to be crying.
Maradona was visibly upset after the Croatia defeat
We feel your pain mate. We really do.
(Images: Getty)
