Unburdened Lionel Messi looks to lift final weight

LUSAIL, Qatar — Lionel Messi smiled, a huge, beaming grin, all teeth and cheeks and joy and a complete lack of complication.

As his younger teammates fell to the ground or looked to the skies, or screamed with delight or found the emotion too great to hold in the tears, there was none of that from the man they all revere.

As Argentina booked its spot in what will be Messi’s second World Cup final (Sunday, 10 a.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports App) and his last chance to lift soccer’s greatest prize, all he felt was happiness. Unfiltered, unchecked, and — finally — unburdened.

Lionel Messi’s joy

Lionel Messi talks about reaching the World Cup final for the second time in his career.

It was not the smile of a man worried about whether Sunday’s final will bring yet another chilling dose of pain on the grandest stage in soccer, like the one he felt in 2014.

It wasn’t the look of a player who still feels shackled by the expectations of his homeland so much that he can’t perform effectively when on international duty.

It was a portrait, candidly, of someone who knows something no one else does — or at least thinks they do. Given Messi’s level of nous and intuition on the field, would it be such a shock if he somehow sensed this was coming, this spectacular run that followed the most dismal start imaginable?

What did he know exactly, to exude such a peaceful satisfaction at Lusail Stadium, after Croatia was dispatched and a spot in the final was etched into the calendar?

Did he know that losing to Saudi Arabia in its tournament opener would be just the jolt needed to get Argentina playing collectively instead of with technical excellence but debilitating selfishness? Does he know there is enough cohesive talent in this group to beat anyone, with only the winner of the France-Morocco semifinal Wednesday (2 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports App) to come?

Does he know he has something special left himself, an X-factor moment waiting to happen from the ultimate X-factor player?

It looks like it, doesn’t it?

The leadership of Lionel Messi

The “World Cup Today” crew discusses Lionel Messi’s leadership and how his talent helped Argentina advance to the World Cup finals.

Messi isn’t buzzing around the field at this World Cup, he’s picking his spots, but, my, how he capitalizes when the time is right. He walks around waiting for the ball, but then bursts into life to crash home a penalty or to distract a defender or to go on a brilliant run from the halfway line.

It is a smart approach, conserving of energy and mightily effective. It only works because there is a youngster in Julian Alvarez willing to do so much compensatory backtracking for it not to matter. 

[Messi: ‘I feel very happy’]

And it also essentially paralyzes the idea of a tactic being implemented to just put a body on Messi and follow him wherever he goes. Anyone assigned to such a ploy might be lulled to sleep by the inactivity in between his sudden, devastating bursts.

Emotionally, psychologically, this is a different side to Messi. When Argentina reached the final in 2014 there was a tension about him, in both the buildup and on the night itself.

Lionel Messi and Argentina celebrate

Lionel Messi did it all for Argentina in the semifinals.

Here and now, he looks like a guy who has come to terms with the fact he might never win a World Cup and is at peace with it, knowing his career will still have been one of the best ever without it.

That slight shift in mindset has relieved the pressure. Messi is an unabashed competitor and the process of striving to win is like oxygen for his warrior soul. No longer though, is there the knee-buckling weight of national expectation. He learned to handle all that, and the Argentinian public has also learned to be a little more reasonable with its demands of him.

Maybe it will feel different in the coming days but for now, it is impossible to remember Messi’s smile and not to feel like there is something inevitable about him finally getting his hands on soccer’s most prestigious trophy.

Maybe that’s just being a sucker for a fairytale, or a testament to the power of superstar charisma. Or a willingness to see the odds overturned, perhaps, for if France advances from the other side of the bracket, Argentina will be a confirmed underdog with the sportsbooks.

Yet it’s hard to see them that way. Not after they beat the 2014 finalist so comfortably. 

And not when the world’s greatest player is smiling that smile.

It could just be a smile and nothing more. But it feels like there is more to it somehow, something far-reaching. Almost that he can view the future — and likes what he sees.

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Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports and the author of the FOX Sports Insider newsletter. Follow him on Twitter @MRogersFOX and subscribe to the daily newsletter.

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