Against an opponent who played too effectively, Argentina with their disjointed and soulless playing style could not develop the ball from midfield, continuously having the ball stolen by counter-attack. The disappointment overwhelmed Argentina in the first minute of extra time, with a counter-attack combination like a practice match, for Rakitic to be the one to set the score, ending the match very well for Croatia. Argentina has not returned home, but has been pushed closer to the "door of death". In his home country Argentina, on the front pages of a series of newspapers, there were angry headlines about the poor performance of Messi and his teammates.
Argentina's El Dia newspaper sent a line: "The tigers: Argentina, not playing football, not having the spirit and being at the edge of the abyss".
With Messi turning his back showing helpless fatigue, Argentina's La Nacion newspaper wrote: "Argentina panicked against Croatia and put the team's future in the World Cup in uncertainty".
Argentina's Clarin newspaper was optimistic about the home team's ability to continue if Coach Sampaoli and his team continued to play so badly. Moreover, the right to decide the ticket to the round of 16 is no longer in Argentina's hands: "D across the disaster when facing Croatia: Argentina was overwhelmed with disappointment and stepped out of the World Cup"
Goalkeeper Caballero's mistake in the 53rd minute of the match when passing the ball to Rebic opened up Argentina's 0-3 defeat to Croatia. With the face-cold image of goalkeeper Caballero, Argentina's Ole newspaper issued a short title: "The Soldier of Suffering".
The failure of Messi and Argentina has also become a hot topic on prestigious sports newspapers around the world. The French newspaper L'Equipe wrote: "Croatia go into the next round, Argentina plays football".
Italy's Tuttosport newspaper wrote: "Argentina was shocked and almost eliminated, Croatia went to the next round".The prestigious German newspaper Bild has a short but very complete description: "Messi is almost eliminated".
Brazil's Lance newspaper was quite provincial-loving after the humiliating defeat of their arch-rivals Brazil in South America: "How is it now, Messi?"Brazil's O Globo newspaper wrote: "Messi, don't say anything, Argentina fell to Croatia".
