When all hope seemed to have faded for Argentina, a familiar figure from Rosario stepped up yet again. Lionel Messi saved the day for his side for the umpteenth time in his illustrious career and, backed by Enzo Fernandez's golazo sealing victory, millions of Albiceleste fans in Bangladesh lived to fight (not to be taken as a cue or an invitation) another day. However, Argentina's two moments of sheer magic should not paper over their cracks by any means.

It was a disjointed performance by the sky blue and whites overall. From here on, if they do not soon get their shape and intent right, their legion of fans could be in for a world of misery as their third World Cup quest likely gets progressively harder with defending champions France a possible opponent in their last 16 hurdle. 

Speaking of Les Blues, they appear ominously good after their two outings. Many a paean will be written about Kylian Mbappe and for good reason, but let us spare a kind word or two for Antoine Griezmann. Once one of the most feared strikers in the world, he has mostly been deployed as a number 8 in Qatar but has fulfilled that role admirably. For me, these instances of selfless diligence and understated heroism epitomise one of the best spirits of the game.

And as far spirited sides are concerned, I am strongly rooting for Japan to pull through from the so-called group of death featuring Germany and Spain. It is comforting to know by near certainty that their fans will continue their celebrated tradition of cleaning the stadium, and their players to leave the locker room as they found it, regardless of the result. And it was no surprise that they did so again in Qatar, but this time after suffering an agonising 1-0 defeat against Costa Rica.