Argentina 2, Bosnia-Herzegovina 1: Messi comes out on top, but Dragons undone by own goal

Bosnia-Herzegovina put up an impressive fight to the finish, but couldn’t recover from a disastrous own goal in the first three minutes of play. Lionel Messi scored the winner (and his first World Cup goal in eight years) to lead Argentina to a 2-1 victory.

OWN GOAL! Sead Kolasinac (BOS), 3 min. Another game, another own goal. A Messi free kick paved the way for this blunder from Bosnia-Hergozevina. Not really how they wanted to start their first-ever World Cup campaign, but at least they made history? It was the fastest-ever own goal in the tournament.  

GOAL! Lionel Messi (ARG), 65 min. Oh, look. A goal scored on purpose. How strange. Messi ran through Bosnia-Hergozevina’s defence like it was nothing for his first World Cup goal in eight years.

GOAL! Vesad Ibisevic (BOS), 85 min. Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero came close to saving this goal, but it slipped through his hands and the Golden Lillies earned their first World Cup goal thanks to Ibisevic, a substitute.

Man of the Match

The last time Messi scored a World Cup goal was in 2006, so this was a long time coming. All eyes are on him in Brazil to lead the way for Argentina, and this could be a sign of things to come. Now Messi just needs to get it going sooner, considering he was essentially invisible in a slow-moving first half. (He only had one shot).

The Controversy

There were protests outside the Maracana stadium ahead of the match and it did not take much to get ugly as Rio de Janeiro police used stun guns and hand grenades to break up the unrest. It was estimated more than 200 protesters took part, shouting: “"FIFA, go back to Switzerland.” Many Brazilians are not happy with the amount of money dedicated to the World Cup because they say it should be spent instead on public services, which are in desperate need of funding.

What did the winning team do to win?

Changed their first-half strategy. To start the game, coach Sabella did not opt for their usual three-man attack and instead chose to go with two strikers (Messi and Sergio Aguero), leaving Gonzalo Higuaín on the bench. They beefed up their attack in the second half by bringing on Higuaín and midfielder Fernando Gago, which turned out to be the extra help Messi needed. As for the Golden Lillies, they simply ran out of time.

While Argentina got a lucky bounce from Kolasinac on that own goal, they can’t count on that forever as they continue on in Group F (although, they are playing Iran next).

The Takeaway

Bosnia-Hergozevina was expected to be Argentina’s biggest challenge in Group F, as Nigeria and Iran make up the rest of their opponents. This means the Argentines have plenty of time to work out the kinks, but if they want to go further in the tournament, they need to show up for the first half, too.

Unfortunately, the Golden Lillies were shaken by the own goal and never seemed to recover their stride until later in the match. It’s their first time at the World Cup, but this group is much weaker than some of the other competitors, so they should be able to make it to the next round despite this loss.

The 1,000 Words

Stray Thoughts

It sure feels that way.

Juninho had some harsh words for Messi in that rough first half.