Everybody talking about how Argentina lost the match, but nobody about how Croatia won it. You have to admit that whether Argentina had problems or not, after that first goal the Croatian team looked like it could score 6 more, and after the second goal they started toying with Argentina like it was a local playground game. Well done by the boys in the checkered kits, well done!

Messi didnt even look like he wanted to be there.

Messi is a magician. Today's disappearance act was one of his best performances

You know it's bad when England look better than Argentina

He had the same face when he lost the copa america.... That's tough

Messi fanboys are right Messi is magician. His disappearance act today was one of the best .

If this was Ronaldo it would all be down to him lol! These guys are Messi apologists

Messi bla bla...Messi bla bla blaaa... Croatia played fantastic!

So now it’s the team! Not Messi not doing anything at all! If this was Ronaldo they will absolutely get on him! Gtfoh! Guys

Modrid and rakitic best midfield duo in this competition. Croatia are going far in this tournament.

coming back after winning the wcup 2022.

That Croatia vs Argentina game was very................Messi 😂

Ronaldo NEVER gives up on his team.

Why does the media always try to separate Messi from the rest of the team? He’s apart of the collective as well and he hasn’t been playing good either! If this was any other player in the GOAT conversation they’d be getting massacred for this performance! I understand the other players aren’t playing well but that’s when you need your talisman to at least TRY something to stem the tide and Messi did nothing but walk around the pitch emotionless!

Messi is a barcelona product. He was brought up in their system as a teenager with midfielders like xavi, iniesta and busquets. If you gonna be called the GOAT you must play at your best in any team and in any league. Messi in Barcelona and Messi in Argentine are 2 different players. Thats not how Pele, Maradona, Ronaldo Brazilian, or Zidane played, these Goats played well everywhere. Even Cristiano dont matter where ha plays Manchester United, Real madrid or Portugal, Cristiano alwys produces goals for his team dont matter the league, champions league the Euro or the WC. He is good everywhere thats the big differnce between Cristiano and Messi. And even if you dont win games you must score goals for you team as a leader.

Coming back to this after Messi won the World Cup. We were in the trenches Messi Nation, but God had a plan for us. We got the last laugh in the end.

Typical Blame everyone BUT Messi and the players. This team has years of experience and come up with nothing. Ronaldo does not have the class players on his side but has the mental Strength! He was bowing his head before the game started !!!! #Ronaldo the Goat

I only came here to see their excuse for messi 😂😂😂

Ronaldo screws up: his time is over Messi screws up: it's not his fault

Messi has Dybala, Di Maria, Aguero, Higauin. Ronaldo has no team mate of that calibre at international level. The GOAT debate is over.

Yes. I wanted to see these Messi fanboys explain themselves

Hmm, Ronaldo wasn't even in these pundits chosen eleven. Messi was walking the whole game

no one speaks how unfair argentina played in this match, their behaviour was a disgrace

What a beautiful game, absolutely loved watching Argentina get TRASHED by Croatia!

To be fair, Messi didn‘t even try to get into a position where he could have gotten the ball. Biggest disappointment of the tournament...

Looks like ronaldo and Messi switched roles from the last World Cup lmfao Edit:holy shit some of the excuses that these fellas are making for Messi,i would love to see some of these fellas cut Ronaldo the same slack mhmm🤔

Who is here after Argentina 3 - Croatia 0 2022 semi win?

Whenever I feel bad for trolling the Ronaldo fanboys, I return to this comment section.

THE GOAT DISCUSSION HAS ENDED, CR7 IS THE 🐐

I hate how ESPN fc team talk about Messi always finding a excuse for him. Y?

I really don’t understand what people wanted Messi to do in this game. Do they want him to run past 11 players without passing to anyone. IT IS A TEAM. Beating one player alone is difficult enough, you need one-two’s, throughballs, dribbles, & some sort of support from teammates. You can see Messi trying to create, by dribbling, trying one-twos and stuff but his support isn’t there.

Messi apologist. They crusify ron aldo neymar and pogba but excuses for Messi. When he score he is a genius nd the saviour of football. When he lose its the coach and the team

Messi is the only reason why Dybala isn't in the starting 11 and Icardi isn't even on the squad...Everybody knows and even Icardi himself has said that he isn't a part of Messi's clique and Messi has stated in May that he and Dybala are playing in the same position so they can't be at the lineup together... Messi was nowhere to be found in this game and at the first game he missed the penalty and with that, the opportunity to give Argentina the 3 points. No more excuses for Messi...

Take away Barca and Messi is mediocre... Take away Real and CR7 is still the GOAT.

The coaches simply put Messi on a pedestal and tell 10 other guys to go out and play for him. Sampaoli now, Madonna 2010 - both times the result was that the team was torn apart by the first really good team they encountered. The one time the coach formed a team and placed Messi in it Argentina reached the final and put up a fight.

Messi with the record of "11 games of round 8 at Champions league, 87 shootings, 0goals"

Spain is already pretty bad in terms of their own standard but Argggentina is unacceptable.

you would think Argentina played against Messi from what these guys are saying.

That's the key difference between him and Ronaldo: The leadership and the mental attitude. When Ronaldo's team is losing he cheers up his team-mates and a lot of times contributes with goals (like against Juventus in th ucl quarter-finals this season and against Spain this world cup). In the other hand the gestures and body language of Messi when he's losing (against Roma this season in the ucl quarter-finals and now against Croatia are just some of the examples) are just self-defeating.

Messi "The Playmaker" got beaten by the true playmaker Modric

Messi is as much to blame as the rest of the team,they haven't shown up to the tournament period

CR 7 is the goat

We always love and support u Leo messi. Ur the best in the world

Modric is the real number 10 what a player, this World Cup proved that Real Madrid stars are on another level.

i wanted to see them talk more about how amazing croatia looked

Cristiano Ronaldo >>>>Messi

“Broken men” if it was Ronaldo they’d be saying “he’s not a leader” “he’s getting old” blah blah blah

Messi deserves so much better than what people are doing to him

Luka Modrić vs R7 this year for best ply..

Imagine if this was Cristiano ´´sitting on the side``.. you hould have crucified him.. not say he was ´´broken``

Best diverse panel ever, Latino, French, Scottish, Irish and Australian? And they know the game well and their analysis was spot on.

Messi should clean shave now. Maybe that will work!

Messi is a terrific player. His ability is raw and beautiful. There is no one like him when it comes to dribbling and things of that nature. BUT, he's not Cristiano Ronaldo. You can blame Sampaoli, you can blame his teammates, and rightfully so, but he's their supposed leader and he's been nonexistent. They talk about how Argentina have struggled to get him the ball, well was he making it easy for them? No, he was making it very difficult by strutting around and barely jogging. Furthermore, Ronaldo has a universal play style. His style of play is predicated on off ball movement, via runs, and brilliant counter attacking play. All you have to do is either send him, cross it to him or wait for him to initiate a counter attack with his speed. This is a very simple style of play that anyone of any skill set can play. That's one of the reasons why Portugal has been successful. Another reason why portugal is great is because of Ronaldo's leadership. He motivates his teammates and leads by example. He demonstrates a great work ethic and is as vocal as anybody. Messi hangs his head low, and shows lack of energy or care. I understand his team is underperforming and this would aggravate any normal person, but if he wants to be the undisputed best, he has to show some more passion. Lastly, Messi's style of play is heavily reliant on him having great supporting midfielders and creative maestros such as Iniesta or Xavi. Ever since Iniesta lost a step and Xavi left, you've seen a decrease in Messi's overall success. Messi requires players who can keep up with him when it comes to linking up, but he needs to understand not everyone can play that kind of football. Argentina has one of the best attacking lines international football has ever seen, Ronaldo would have the time of his life playing with that much speed and talent up front. His counter attacking style of play would perfectly suit them. This is why CR7 is the GOAT for me.

hard to be the “GOAT” when you dont have prime Xavi, Iniesta, Dani Alves, Alba etc there to take the pressure off and set u up... forget world cup... pls win Copa America at least..

Messi is a emotion the chances he created was nice till now he should not blamed he is a king ❤️❤️❤️

I love how they barely even mentioned Croatia but just talked about the shitty performance by Argentina.

It was sad to see this game...Argentina has no direction of play, no organization or chemistry. Messi can only do so much, he brought them here but they’ve failed to come around him. Messi isn’t innocent but he can only do so much.

Thank you for not crediting Croatia at all.Even with Argentina playing bad Croatia played one of the best games of whole world cup.AJMO HRVATSKA ZA PRVAKA!HERCEG BOSNA JE UZ SVOJE!

Congratulations Hrvatska for a fantastic win! Great players, young and handsome Slavic men.

Messi looked devastated even during the national anthem He’s amazing, but he’s given all hope on the international level

Messi fan boys triggered

NO EXCUSES HE WILL NEVER BE THE GREAT DIEGO ARMANDO MARADONA FRANCO. This man always flops for his country, never rises to the occasion, created nothing. How can people honestly say he’s the greatest ever?

What is worse by far once the game was over Messi went right away , didn't shake hand with Cro players like usually players do. Very sad

I need that Messi headache meme ASAP!!! Can anyone please make it lol 😆 Looks so funny

Ronaldo the ‘goat’ 🐐 of fifa w cup 2018

Messi is a great player!!! He could not do it alone. Futbol is about a Team.

Idk bout yall, but I LOVE the commentary by these guys and all their different accents lmao I can't help but laugh when I'm listening

Putting messi in argentina current team is just like you instal the v8 engine of ferrari to the school bus, its still good, but wont be running well of course.

"They couldn't get Messi into the game" That is the difference right there. Ronaldo doesn't need any one else to get him into the game.

Messi against "some" organized defence, can do nothing. Especially when there is no Xavi nor Iniesta!!!

Why the hell is every CR7 lover saying in the comment section that ESPN FC is making excuses for Messi They did criticised him But it was mainly Sampoli's fault The team was totally disorganized,unstructured and seemed to have no planning I have never seen any team with such preparation in the world cup It's a wonder how this team even made it into the world cup And yes CR7 lovers Messi didn't perform well I am a Messi lover but I like CR7 But don't put everything on Messi Modric has specifically stated that they had tactically covered Messi so that he doesn't receive the ball

for me, Messi makes team play much more difficultly. 😓😓😓😓😓

As a Croatian let me tell you the main key to this great team no ego play. It's coach Dalic. He sent Kalinic away because he was a diva. Now atmosphere in the locker room is even better. It's been a long time since we had a great coach. Guy is a great sport psychologist, players coach with healthy authority. He is bringing the best out of this great generation. People wondered why Modric and Rakitic don't play as well for the international team. Well, they played wrong positions, other players as well. Finally a GREAT coach.

The way they are defending messi If only they would defend CR7 the same way if he played so poorly in such a major game.Hypocrisy is unreal.Just to be clear Not blaming Messi for the defeat entirely just highlighting the hypocrisy

Even thou i'm not a fan of Messi but I fell sympathy for him when I look him like broken man

And this is the man that these guys constantly advertise as the GOAT... Wat a joke Ronaldo would never just give up like Messi did.

Croatia 3-0 Argentina is the biggest game of the world cup so far. It shows that a traditional power has fallen hard, a candidate for best all time player just simply isn't, and a new era of soccer where second tier teams like Croatia also pose a very real threat to even the world's best has dawned. (argentina isn't the world's best but the 3-0 scoreline should be enough to alert teams like Brazil) No longer will south Korea or El Salvador get thumped by 9 goals. No longer will Saudi Arabia lose by 8. Even the weakest teams could be within 2 goals or so of the strongest, and about half the teams in the tournament are potentially able to steal points from Germany, including a round of 16 level Mexico. due to the accelerating speed of globalization, it is an unavoidable trend that differences between nations get smaller.

ESPN analysis are all Barcelona and Argentina fans-boy, they find all types of excuses for pessi and blame the other players....😂😂...CR7 those not have half the players messi but still cr7 get things done and happening💯

Messi, show RESPECT,

All those using Messi’s struggle to justify Ronaldo being greater than him are just exposing their insecurity. After yesterday’s game I realized how hard it is for him to even carry this team especially in a team that can’t string 4 passes to save their lives. Messi can’t do it alone, just as Ronaldo wouldn’t be anywhere if it weren’t for the team behind him. Messi is just very unlucky that he not only has to carry his nation, but also Barca for the past few years. A player like Messi is not a once in a lifetime player, He’s a player that I believe we will not see his like ever again. I am done with my hopes of him winning a world cup, because let’s face it: It most likely will probably never happen. However, as I said above he is a player whose like we will never see again, that is why he is the GOAT. Not winning a world cup. For all I care Portugal can win this world cup, and Ronaldo can win the next 10 champions leagues, he can stroke his chin with his fingers all he wants or shove them up his own ass for all I care, he and everyone else knows that he will never get close to Messi, no matter how good he is. If Messi wins a world cup, good for him, just another achievement that he accomplished. For now fuck it, I am sad that he likely won’t win it, but let’s enjoy his slaloming and all the other magic this guy does, something that truly gives me the joy that nothing else does. The joy I feel when I see his magic on a weekly basis is a special kind of joy and I will just enjoy it for the time we have left of him because let’s face it he’s already 31 and he isn’t getting younger. It is those feelings that I feel that make Messi the GOAT and no one can ever take that away from me, and it shouldn’t for anyone else of you guys. I’ve said my piece.

Its not over Leo, It's just not over❤

It's not the messi fault. He isn't 11 players.The player around him are a shambles.He is not like Ronaldo, he need support around him😆😆😆

Messi has flopped on the big stage ONCE AGAIN. The debate is over, Ronaldo has proven time and time again he's the GOAT.

Just because he lost one game doesn't mean it's the end I can feel it he is planning a very well payback

Finnally this bean ball criticizes messi Im proud of him lol

The manager needs to be fired right away how do u leave de Maria and dayabala out of the starting line up ur best attacking combination and u leave them on the bench no this guy needs to be fired right away

Messi You have to do the best performance to stun the world in the last match . You still have hopes. We are beside you . Show the world the real FOOTBALL

Dybala, Di Maria, and even Banega were on the bench

"Messi can't do everything by him self" the fanboy excuse😂😂

shout out to messi for pulling the biggest finesse job in sports history lmao people really believed he was the goat

nobody is talking about the masterclass produced by modric/rakitic today

I forgot what they talked about because I was so focused on those accents! LOL

The funniest part is this Argentinian side would still beat England 😂😊😊

Admit it, ESPN... Messi is finished and Ronaldo is King !

everybody talks about how argentina was bad but nobody talks about croatia performance, they did pretty amazing

@ESPN Maybe just maybe, messi isn't THAT good without Xavi and Iniesta behind him.

Where are all of the Missi fans still at the funeral after the Croatia game ?? The autopsy report definitely going to say rape was the cause of death

Watching this in 2022 again after Arg beating croatia 3-0

Ronaldo scores a penalty and a free kick two minutes from the end of the game against Spain. Messi, in the same situation can't do it against an Iceland team that has a dentist as a manager and a fireman as the goal keeper. Messi just doesn't have the BALLS & CHARACTER.

fabregas made a great point about how it looked like Argentina went with 5 strikers and 5 defenders no midfielders and thats why when Croatia attacked there was no one back plus Argentina's goalkeeper has cost them 3 goals you could say even all 4