The mercurial forward was below his brilliant best as the Albiceleste reached the last 16, but a French team-mate attributes this to the style of play
Lionel Messi cannot be expected to recreate his Barcelona performances in a very different set-up with Argentina, according to club team-mate Samuel Umtiti.
Argentina scraped through Group D at the World Cup and, prior to the final pool match against Nigeria, in which he scored a brilliant opener, Messi's performances drew criticism.
But Umtiti, like many others, has pointed out that Messi cannot singlehandedly inspire a misfiring team, while he believes Argentina's style of play crucially differs from Barca's.