“Against Australia [in the round of 16] you had the feeling for 30 minutes that we were up against an impenetrable wall,” said former Argentine striker and latter-day soccer philosopher Jorge Valdano ahead of his country’s quarterfinal game against the Netherlands. “But we all knew that there was one player who could find the hole and ultimately did: [Lionel] Messi. It’s beautiful to see how talent manages to keep on winning out.”
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