Ghosts everywhere. In the stands, where the spectre of Diego Maradona was waving his fists, wondering how Argentina could put in such a vapid performance.
On the pitch, where the shadows of Sergio Aguero and Gonzalo Higuain were sprinting through the middle, looking for a pass or clearing a path for Lionel Messi.
The ghosts of Argentina's past haunted them for large parts of Saturday's game against Mexico, as the present almost became a living nightmare.
Lionel Scaloni's team were in dire danger of heading out of this World Cup after two games, the champions of South America last year vulnerable to a humbling on the global stage, until a flash of Messi magic changed everything.
A swish of that left boot from 25 yards, and the ball zipped into the bottom-right corner. It had to be him.
On the night Messi matched Maradona's Argentina record of 21 World Cup appearances, he also moved level with El Diego on eight goals in his career at the finals, two behind national team record holder Gabriel Batistuta. For Messi, those World Cup goals have all come in the group stage, something he came to Qatar to change and still might.
Losing to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday was bad enough for Argentina, but at least there would be a reaction against the Mexicans. Perhaps it might be the spur they needed, and perhaps it could still be Messi's World Cup.
Those were theories that were widely voiced, yet for an hour they looked to be utter bunkum.
Even at 90 minutes, with a 2-0 scoreline barely reflecting the flow of the game, you were left fearing Argentina might find a way to trip up against Poland next time out. If they finish second in this group, it will almost certainly be France waiting for them in the second round, and on the evidence so far, Argentina would be mauled by Les Bleus.
Messi and Co arrived at this tournament on a 36-game unbeaten run, but such has been their languid start you would have been forgiven for guessing they played all 36 of those games in the last month.
Here they were off the pace from the start, lacking any obvious strategy, down on energy, praying for Messi to conjure something. It had an air of Barcelona in the final days of Ronald Koeman's reign about it.
Scaloni has backed Lautaro Martinez to be his lone striker, and there might have to be a rethink on that score. Martinez has a shot conversion rate of 12.9 per cent this season for Inter, which is not ideal for a striker, and has been finding the net at club level every 206.25 minutes.
He has Edin Dzeko up alongside him for the Nerazzurri, who has been more clinical with his chances, but with Argentina it is Martinez who leads the line ostensibly alone.
This team used to have an embarrassment of attacking riches, and they desperately miss prime era Higuain and Aguero.
Martinez has a strong scoring record for his country, but he was ineffective here, his second game at his first World Cup.
When a clear chance came his way in the 40th minute, after a fine cross from the right by Di Maria, he planted a header way off target. It was his one goal attempt. Argentina only had five shots all night, which was still one more than Mexico. Their combined total of shots is the fewest ever recorded in a World Cup, based on studies of matches going back as far as 1966.
There was a moment late in the first half that looked to be typifying Argentina's night: Mexico's Alexis Vega had a free-kick well saved by Emiliano Martinez shortly before half-time and Argentina went on the break, with Messi looking to dance down the right and make something happen.
Except, those feet don't dance as quickly as they once did, and the ball was soon swept into touch. At Paris Saint-Germain, with Neymar and Kylian Mbappe for company, the gradual decline of Messi is not quite so obvious. He can be a joy to behold in that company still, but when all the attention of defenders is on him, as it inevitably was this time, he was being too easily crowded out and barged off the ball.
In the second half, Erick Gutierrez hacked down Messi when he got close to the edge of the box and began to sprint, and Argentina had the chance they wanted. Messi punted it over the crossbar, and you just sensed it would not be his night.
And then Messi decided that, actually, yes it would be.
At the age of 35, he cannot win a World Cup by himself, but he can still come up with magical moments, and it was a goal for the career showreels, a stroke of familiar genius at the Lusail Iconic Stadium, which will stage this tournament's final.
For the second time in his career, Messi has scored in six consecutive international games for his country. He remains a joy of a player, and his country's biggest hope.
Substitute Enzo Fernandez added a late second goal that flattered Argentina, and it made the Benfica player, at 21 years and 313 days, the youngest Argentina scorer at a World Cup since the 18-year-old Messi announced himself at the 2006 finals. The past might still be a haunting influence, but here was a glimpse into the future.
A smiling Messi celebrated with relieved supporters at the end. For just a fleeting moment in this game, he had been afforded a yard of space and made it count.
Friday marked two years since the death of Maradona. He is Argentina's past, yet you still almost expect television cameras to pan to him in the stands.
Messi has spent his life trying to live up to the legend of Maradona, and that shared super-natural brilliance has just about kept Argentina's hopes alive in Qatar.
Aurelien Tchouameni has rubbished suggestions the France squad is a more harmonious place without Karim Benzema after reaching the World Cup knockout rounds.
Didier Deschamps' side are into the last 16 at Qatar 2022 after victory over Denmark in Group D, with Kylian Mbappe's double firing Les Bleus to a 2-1 win on Saturday.
The attacker has delivered for his side so far in the absence of Benzema, with the Ballon d'Or winner ruled out on the eve of the tournament with a thigh injury.
Some reports have suggested there has been a better atmosphere in the absence of the Real Madrid star, who was not involved at Russia 2018, but Tchouameni has now sought to dispel those rumours.
"I want to come back to something we saw concerning the departure of Karim," Tchouameni stated about his club and international team-mate.
"[Somewhere said] we have felt better since he was no longer here.
"It's totally false. Even when he was there, it was already going well. We have been hurt by these reports.
"What I can tell you is that since we arrived in Qatar, things have been going really well."
With two games under his belt, Tchouameni is fast becoming an integral member for Deschamps in his side's title defence, with France boosted too by the return of defender Raphael Varane.
The Manchester United centre-back has been nursing a problem since late October, but made his return to action with a start against Denmark.
Reflecting on his injury, Varane added: "I've come a long way. It's been a lot of work, a lot of effort to come back.
"I feel good. It's always special to play at this exceptional event. I'll take advantage of every moment. We will do everything to go as far as possible."
France will conclude their Group D campaign against Tunisia on November 30, and will discover their last-16 opponents later that day when Group C concludes.
Antoine Griezmann says he is proud to match Zinedine Zidane for assists with France, but credited their World Cup victory over Denmark as a team performance.
Kylian Mbappe's double saw the defending champions book their place in the knockout rounds with a 2-1 win, cementing top spot in Group D with a game in hand.
Griezmann supplied the crucial delivery for the forward's winner, cancelling out Andreas Christensen's earlier equaliser, to move him to 26 assists overall for his country.
That draws him level with national legend and fellow World Cup winner Zidane, but while Griezmann was delighted to match the achievement, he was quick to pay tribute to Didier Deschamps' squad as a whole.
"I am very proud of that," he told TF1. "But I insist [it is] the work of the team, [rather than] my work offensively or defensively.
"There are the stats, [if] we only look at that. But everyone made an exceptional effort tonight. It was very important to win and qualify."
Griezmann's feat draws him level with Zidane, who helped France to World Cup success on home soil in 1998.
For France, victory marked a spot of revenge too after back-to-back losses against Kasper Hjulmand's side in the Nations League, and Griezmann acknowledged their win was a hard-fought one.
"We knew it was going to be a complicated match," he added. "We lost twice in the Nations League. We did a lot of work together. Those who returned worked well too. It's a very good victory."
France will wrap up their Group D campaign against Tunisia on November 30, where they will look to ensure they claim top spot and an arguably more favourable draw for the knockout stages.
After suffering a shock 2-1 defeat to Japan on matchday one, Germany could ideally do with a swift and straightforward response.
Unfortunately for them, awaiting Die Nationalelf at Al Bayt Stadium on Sunday will be a Spain side that remarkably won 7-0 against Costa Rica last time out.
Germany know defeat could doom them to a second successive group-stage elimination at the World Cup, an astonishing turn of events given that before 2018 they had not failed to get past the tournament's first round since 1938.
Another loss would consign Germany to three consecutive World Cup defeats for the first time ever – they have also never been beaten twice in the group stage of a single edition before.
The pressure is already on head coach Hansi Flick, who suggested one of his main objectives before Sunday's game is to ensure the team believes they can prevail.
"The team and every person can always develop," he said. "That's why the team still has potential, which it's not quite delivering at the moment.
"Nevertheless, I believe we have good quality. Yes, we trust the team. We're positive and just really want to see that we approach this game on Sunday against Spain positively.
"It's simply important to deal with defeats, but also to clear your head and focus on the new task, and that's our goal, to get the team to the point where they naturally believe that they can push this thing in the right direction on Sunday."
Regardless of Germany's belief, Flick's side can at least take solace in the fact they pretty much know how Spain will play – Luis Enrique is never secretive about his expectations for La Roja.
In their obliteration of Los Ticos, Spain recorded a possession figure of 81.9 per cent, setting a new record since Opta have this data available in the World Cup (from 1966), surpassing Argentina’s 80.3 per cent against Greece in 2010.
That was Spain's biggest ever World Cup victory and they also boast a strong recent record over Germany, having lost only one of their previous seven meetings.
Granted, Spain have only won their first two games of a World Cup three times and not since 2006, but Luis Enrique was adamant after the Costa Rica win that complacency will not be an issue.
This may be a young Spain squad, but they have long resembled an immensely unified unit under the guidance of Luis Enrique, who acts as a sort of pressure sponge, and Rodri believes their overall connection is their key strength.
"It's true we have been working very good for a long time, maybe on the results front," he said. "Nowadays in football there is great equality, but the performance was there [against Costa Rica], and it was good.
"The sensations were great, the team is whole in every line, defensively and offensively the team worked like an accordion.
"The goals for me were a consequence of our play, and what I liked more about the other day is that we know that the collective is what will bring us success.
"That is why everyone was remarkable, everyone had a great contribution, and everyone respected his position and his role."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Spain – Pedri
He was withdrawn before the hour mark against Costa Rica, but that was more than enough time to show just how integral Pedri is to how Spain play. He completed 97 per cent of his passes (86/89), but what made that even more impressive was the fact he was the fulcrum of La Roja's attacking play, with only Dani Olmo (33) attempting more passes in the final third than him (30).
Managing to maintain that accuracy in such a congested area of the pitch where he was expected to take risks was mightily impressive, and he even managed to tally a joint-high three key passes. Germany would be wise to pay him special attention.
Germany – Serge Gnabry
The defeat to Japan was a game to forget for Germany, but Gnabry did at least look lively. He managed six shots on matchday one, with three of them on target, and was very involved.
In fact, he played a part in 12 open-play sequences that ended a shot, with Kylian Mbappe (13) the only player to better him in that regard over the first round of matches at the tournament. He will need to do better in front of goal, but he clearly has the capacity to cause Spain problems.
PREDICTION
There is every chance this will be close.
Spain go into the game as the favourites with a 42.7 per cent chance of success, according to Stats Perform's AI model, but this means there is a 57.3 per cent likelihood of them failing to win.
That incorporates Germany's 31.9 per cent probability of emerging victorious, which also highlights how difficult this game is to call from the outset.
Kylian Mbappe poached a double as France became the first side to clinch a place in the last-16 stage at the Qatar World Cup with a 2-1 win over Denmark.
It took France until just past the hour mark to make a breakthrough, as Mbappe finished off an electrifying break.
Denmark were level seven minutes later when Andreas Christensen planted a close-range header past Hugo Lloris, and substitute Martin Braithwaite later clipped the post.
However, Mbappe was decisive when he bundled in Antoine Griezmann's cross from the right in the 86th minute.
Argentina can recover from their woeful World Cup start and reach the knockout rounds, says Barcelona boss Xavi.
Lionel Scaloni's side were handed a shock defeat in Group C by Saudi Arabia in their opener, with Lionel Messi's first-half penalty cancelled out by goals from Saleh Al-Shehri and Salem Al-Dawsari.
With Mexico and Poland drawing their first match elsewhere, it has handed La Albiceleste an arduous, though not improbable, pathway beyond the opening stages of Qatar 2022.
But speaking for Adidas in Qatar, Xavi, who was a member of the Spain squad that lost their opener at South Africa 2010 before rallying to win the tournament, believes they have what it takes to turn matters around.
"I know [how it feels], because it happened to us in 2010 in South Africa," he stated, in reference to his own defeat a dozen years ago to Switzerland. "It is a very difficult moment.
"[There is] more tension, more pressure, but I think they have everything. They have the capacity to come back, to win against Mexico and beat Poland.
"I believe a lot in Leo, in the Argentina squad, in Scaloni. They have the capacity to get six points and qualify for the next round, sure."
Argentina will be bidding to avoid a first group stage exit since Korea/Japan 2002, the only time they have failed to reach the knockout rounds in the expanded 32-team format era.
They face Mexico on Saturday in Lusail, before wrapping up their Group C campaign against Poland in Doha on November 30.
Gareth Southgate should rest Harry Kane for England's final Group B match against Wales, according to former Three Lions captain Alan Shearer.
Kane claimed the Golden Boot after scoring six goals in the 2018 World Cup, becoming the first England player to win the award since Gary Lineker 32 years earlier.
The Three Lions skipper did not register a shot on target in the Three Lions' 6-2 thrashing of Iran or the goalless draw with the United States in Qatar.
Shearer thinks Callum Wilson might start instead of Kane against Wales on Tuesday, when Southgate's side will be expected to seal their place in the round of 16.
H said in his BBC column: "I am not overly concerned about that statistic [Kane not having a shot on target], because we know the provider role Harry plays for this England team, even when he is not scoring himself. But watching him against the United States, it was clear something wasn't right.
"He came through that scare about his ankle before the US game but, after playing a big part in an impressive team performance in the Iran game with two assists, he looked very tired and very leggy to me.
"It might be time to think about getting him right for the knockout stages, and I have a sneaky feeling Callum Wilson might come in to face Wales on Tuesday instead.
"England need to freshen things up anyway, to get the feel-good factor back after the disappointment of our draw with the US, and restore a bit of confidence."
England were fortunate to escape with a point against the USA on Friday, with Southgate raising eyebrows by keeping Phil Foden on the bench.
Shearer added: "I can understand why Gareth stuck with the same team that had stuck six goals past Iran. But, after that, I can't see him doing the same again in our final game in Group B.
"After the euphoria of our first game, everyone was expecting, wanting and hoping that it would be a similar story against the US. It wasn't, it was actually really flat.
"You have to give great credit to the US, because they stopped us from playing, as well as playing well themselves.
"But of course, it was disappointing that we were not able to change the direction of the game with the attacking options we had on the bench.
"I was quite surprised one or two players did not come on at half-time because we were playing poorly. Our plan wasn't working and one or two players looked tired.
"There are going to be games at this tournament where, for whatever reason, we need to change our personnel or tactics, or both, to try to win them."
Despite their disappointing display, England would seal top spot in Group B with victory over a Wales side that that must win to have any chance of progressing.
And Shearer is confident a similarly positive display to that in the opening game against Iran will get Southgate's side back on track.
"The last team to go through a World Cup and win all seven games was Brazil, 20 years ago," he stated.
"Everyone who goes deep into the tournament usually hits a bump in the road during the group stage and, while that performance wasn't great, we are still in a very strong position.
"I'd really expect us to beat Wales and go through as winners of our group, which was always the aim.
"It won't be easy, of course. Wales' situation means they have to win to have any chance of getting out of the group, and then you have the rivalry you encounter whenever the home nations play each other which adds another element to the game.
"It's pretty obvious what I want to see now - the same attacking outlook, ideas and energy we showed in the Iran game. If we do that, we will be back on track for the next part of this World Cup."
Ivan Perisic believes "the sky is the limit" for his former Bayern Munich team-mate Alphonso Davies, who he is excited to face when Croatia take on Canada at the World Cup on Sunday.
The 2018 runners-up Croatia began their Group F campaign with a goalless draw against Morocco on Wednesday, failing to score in a World Cup match for the first time since 2006 (0-0 v Japan).
That result leaves Zlatko Dalic's men needing a win when they face Canada, but Bayern's all-action full-back Davies could represent a major threat to their hopes of victory.
Davies impressed despite seeing an early penalty saved by Thibaut Courtois in Canada's 1-0 loss to Belgium, creating more chances (three) than all opposition players except Kevin De Bruyne (four), and Perisic is all too aware of the 22-year-old's quality.
"It was a pleasure to play with him on the left side, he is a powerful runner, the sky is the limit for him," Perisic said of Davies at Saturday's pre-match press conference.
"I can't wait to play against him and the others, to show what we can do. I hope for good success.
"We watched them against Belgium, how much they ran, Belgium could not respond. We have to be at that level in terms of running and aggressiveness.
"After all, we are Croatia and if we show our game, it will be positive. I think you will see the new, real Croatia."
Meanwhile, only Luka Modric (156) and Darijo Srna (134) have bettered Perisic's tally of 117 senior caps for Croatia, and the wing-back also scored his country's first goal in their World Cup final defeat to France four years ago.
Perisic will be 35 by the time Euro 2024 comes around, but he is yet to give any consideration to whether this tournament will be his last.
"The focus is on this match, and I don't know where I will be in two or four years," he added.
"I'm going game by game, my goal is to play as much as possible and work slowly every day."
Robert Lewandowski broke his World Cup duck on Saturday and explained his emotional celebration was due to the possibility of this being his last finals.
This is only Lewandowski's second World Cup with Poland, but he is now 34 years old and did not score a single goal at Russia 2018.
That barren run continued in the opening match against Mexico, in which the Barcelona forward saw a penalty saved.
But Lewandowski assisted Piotr Zielinski's strike against Saudi Arabia and grabbed the second himself in a vital 2-0 win to move Poland top of Group C.
The former Bayern Munich man was clearly overcome with emotion as he embraced his team-mates.
"The older I get, the more emotional I get," Lewandowski said. "I'm aware when it comes to the World Cup, it might be my last World Cup."
He added: "When you play for the national squad, you have to focus on the results, but some per cent of my identity also wanted me to have good statistics.
"I always wanted to score at the World Cup, and this dream came true."
Poland coach Czeslaw Michniewicz said of Lewandowski's emotion: "I was not surprised, because I know how deeply he lived the last match. The whole team supported him a lot.
"We are very happy together with him, just as we were very sad together with him after the penalty."
Michniewicz added "one player will not win the match alone", but that was an assessment Herve Renard disagreed with, as the Saudi Arabia coach attributed Poland's victory to Wojciech Szczesny.
A penalty save from Salem Al Dawsari at 1-0 kept Poland in front in a game Saudi Arabia controlled for long periods.
Despite the result, Renard is not giving up hope, saying: "We are still alive, so we'll play until the last second of our World Cup. If that's next time or another time, we won't give up."
Saudi Arabia are second in the pool, a point behind Poland, ahead of Argentina playing Mexico later on Saturday.
"I hope [the Saudi fans] won't give up," Renard said. "When you are fans, you need to support your team when it's a fantastic day. But you also need to support your team to make history in the third game. I would like to see one more time a green stadium."
Canada's 1-0 defeat to Belgium was "statistically", according to John Herdman, "a winning performance" – and it is easy to see why he thinks that.
Canada attempted 22 shots, twice as many as their previous World Cup record (11 versus USSR in 1986), with their attempts worth a combined 2.6 expected goals.
Belgium's chances were worth 0.8 xG, but they crucially scored through Michy Batshuayi.
Canada still have not scored a World Cup goal from 50 shots. No team have played more finals matches (four) without ever finding the net, while only Bolivia have previously failed to register in their first five such fixtures.
Another "winning performance" against Croatia will count for little if they cannot end that drought.
"It's those behaviours that we'll continue to work on," coach Herdman said. "That's what the players see in the review meeting [after the Belgium game].
"And we've got to close some gaps going into this meeting with Croatia, who are a hell of a team."
That more measured praise of Croatia was slightly at odds with Herdman's emotions immediately post-match, when he called on his Canada players to "'F'" their next opponents.
"The gentleman expressed himself that way, that is his right," responded Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic. "I won't dwell on that. We have to speak on the field.
"Everyone has their own way of expressing themselves. I just don't know how nice it is to say something like that. I will discuss it with the players. It can only motivate us."
It is easy to see why Herdman might have been confident, though, if he had taken in Croatia's goalless draw against Morocco.
The 2018 finalists had just five shots in that match, their lowest total in a single World Cup contest. They averaged 16.1 shots per game in Russia.
Still, Canada have lost each of their first four World Cup games and will be eliminated if that sequence continues against Croatia.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Croatia – Josko Gvardiol
Not many Croatia players stood out against Morocco, but Gvardiol was one. He set Croatia World Cup records for passes attempted (115) and completed (102), although he might have more work to do defensively in this encounter based on Canada's first display. It is an opportunity to impress for a man linked with a host of Europe's leading clubs.
Canada – Jonathan David
Alphonso Davies may have passed up Canada's clearest chance from the penalty spot, but David will similarly rue a wasteful opening display. He had seven shots against Belgium, all from inside the box, but missed the target with each of them. It was only the second example since 1966 of a player taking all of his seven shots from inside the area yet failing to trouble the goalkeeper (also Italy's Paolo Barison against North Korea in 1966).
PREDICTION
Even in defeat, Canada were one of the more impressive performers of the opening round of matches, but they are still facing the finalists from the last World Cup – and the supercomputer's forecast bears that out.
Croatia are 47.0 per cent favourites, according to Stats Perform's AI model, with Canada given a 27.0 per cent chance and the draw rated a shade more unlikely at 26.0 per cent.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
