World Cup hits and misses: Brazil out to Croatia as Lionel Messi's Argentina progress despite Wout Weghorst heroics

This Argentina side is not packed with great players but they may have the best of them all. That could be enough for Lionel Scaloni to take this team all the way. Lionel Messi and friends faced a major quarter-final scare but they are one step closer now. Maybe two.

The expectation at the start of the day was that even had Argentina overcome the Netherlands - as they eventually did - Brazil would have been favourites in the semi-final. Now it is Croatia and confidence will surely be growing.

The calculation for Scaloni is that if he can ensure his team are organised and committed, Messi can do the rest. For 80 minutes of their quarter-final that happened. Messi's threaded assist was one that only he could see. It was his penalty that doubled the advantage.

The panic that ensued late on as the Netherlands scored twice will have alarmed supporters but the sense of unity in coming through that will be significant. A fit again Angel Di Maria can help too. "It is not the Netherlands against Messi," Virgil van Dijk had said beforehand.