Lionel Messi rises above the dross to bring Argentina to life...

Argentina was a frenzied mess for the most part against Mexico and even Lionel Messi was dragged down. Until he decides to rise above it all and lift the Albiceleste…

Argentina were expected to respond to their surprise loss to Saudi Arabia on Saturday night. And they came up with one: blind panic. At least until Lionel Messi saves them again.

Perhaps we should give the Argentinians some grace, as losing is not something they experience lately. Before Tuesday, it had been 36 games and more than three years since they were last runners-up. After watching them take on the Saudis and Mexico, it's a mystery that they could get away with it for so long.

It must be the real Argentina, not the one we saw in Qatar. Yet at least there is still time for the Albiceleste to reunite and hope remains that Messi will be crowned the World Cup winner in his fifth and final final.

Admittedly, that hope has dimmed somewhat since they opened their campaign in Group C. Even Messi might struggle to carry that crowd without a quick and comprehensive improvement.

That's probably what Lionel Scaloni was looking for when he changed five of his 10 outfield players following their Saudi embarrassment. Changes were needed, no doubt. But half of his team? It seemed an extreme reaction to the premature end of a record unbeaten run. If Tuesday's result was indeed an abnormal event, it would have made sense to stick to the plan.

Instead, Scaloni tore it up. And inside the first three quarters of a torrid game against Mexico, there were five more bench changes. It should come as no surprise, then, that Argentina showed no sign of cohesion. They were lucky that Mexico was more desperate.

That was not the case in the first half. In fact, the Mexicans were right. On the other side of the pitch, Argentina looked scared. Terrified in and out of possession; fear of making a mistake; and more than anything, terrified of the consequences of another defeat.

The two new full-backs, Gonzalo Montiel and Marcos Acuna, were sad; Rodrigo De Paul looked like he was struggling to find water from a boat, let alone a teammate with a pass; while Lautaro Martinez took until the 50th minute of the first half to complete his first.

Messi was not immune to discomfort. And he looked like he was really fed up. In the 64th minute he decided to do something.

Until then, Mexico had done a great job of invading Messi. He broke free at the start of the second half and saw his first run abruptly cut short by a cynical foul. But when he kicked the free kick over the bar, it looked like Argentina knocked him down with them.

Maybe it was a ploy. If so, Mexico has fallen for it. When the ball arrived at Messi's feet on the edge of the box, there wasn't the same care and attention given to the obvious threat. Messi capitalized, drilling a low shot into the very corner of Guillermo Ochoa's goal.

With that, Messi had once again lifted a great weight off Argentina's shoulders. The relief was palpable, not just in the celebrations but in how they controlled the rest of the game. It wasn't prettier, but with the benefit, it wasn't necessary. Argentina only had to keep Mexico at bay, which three central defenders and the toothless Mexicans managed.

Enzo Fernandez added a layer of brilliance with a fine finish three minutes from time, once again the result of Mexico's inability to sense danger, let alone avoid it. After his first international goal and the form of the Benfica midfielder heading into the World Cup, it wouldn't be surprising to see Scaloni make another switch for the decider against Poland.

On Wednesday, everything could go wrong again. There is little margin for furt...