Messi carries Argentina past Cape Verde as dependency concerns linger

In Miami on a Friday night, Lionel Messi — 39 years old and still bending tournaments to his will — scored twice to carry Argentina past Cape Verde 3-2 in extra time, matching his entire 2022 World Cup goal tally in a single match. The victory was real, but so was the unease beneath it: a nation's hopes resting on one man's shoulders raises the oldest question in team sport, the one about the difference between genius and dependency. Argentina advance, but the deeper reckoning — what happens when the one indispensable thing is no longer there — moves with them.