The JOE World Cup Minipod #9 featuring Messi’s arrival at the World Cup, Argentina’s dysfunction and why they must beat France

Messi has touched down.

Marcos Rojo might have scored the winner, but Lionel Messi's first goal in the 2018 World Cup was a thing of such beauty that it seemed to suggest Argentina's passage to the last sixteen would, after two games of chaos, be seamless. But that is not this Argentina and that is not this World Cup. Of course, they made it difficult, of course they nearly messed it up before Marcos Rojo - who had somehow managed not to concede a penalty - fired in the winner. Argentina will now play France - who are everything Argentina are not - but not in a good way. https://soundcloud.com/user-916195899/9-messi-magic-arrives-in-russia-and-a-chink-in-the-varmour On the latest episode of JOE's World Cup Minipod, Paddy McKenna and Dion Fanning discuss Messi's brilliance, the role of Maradona and why Argentina appear to have followed the same destructive path as the Australian cricket team.

• Can Messi take Argentina past France?
• Where will Jorge Sampaoli sit?
• And after all the chaos, will Germany take control?

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