Finding Space on the Right
For much of the first hour, Messi struggled to break through a crowded England midfield. He still managed a few flashes of brilliance, including a dribble that left Harry Kane trailing and another surge past Anthony Gordon, before Elliot Anderson eventually brought him down with a rough tackle. Despite those moments, England found a way through on the counter and took a surprise 1-0 lead.



That's when Messi did what he has always done in tight matches: he drifted out to the right flank to find room to operate. It's a habit head coach Lionel Scaloni has grown used to seeing, and one he doesn't try to control. Rather than instructing Messi where to play, Scaloni simply reshapes the team around him, something he did again here, bringing on Nico González for balance on the left before adding Rodrigo De Paul and Gonzalo Montiel for extra thrust on the right.

From that point on, even with England ahead on the scoreboard, Messi was clearly dictating the rhythm of the match.

Breaking Through the Cage
England had talked before the game about the challenge of containing Messi, and it showed in how many players were used to track him throughout the night. The general football wisdom, often repeated by rival coaches over the years, is that Messi cannot be handled by a single defender; he needs to be boxed in by two or three at once, because in a straight one-on-one d.