Where would Argentina be without Messi?

Qualification to the 2018 World Cup is far from assured for Argentina, but with Lionel Messi in their side there's no question that La Albiceleste are capable of comfortably securing a spot in a fraught campaign thus far. Coach Edgardo Bauza hailed the Barcelona attacker who came off the back of a poor showing in Brazil to help secure a solid 3-0 win over Colombia on Tuesday night, bouncing his country back into the play-off slot of CONMEBOL's league standings. Argentina had gone four games without a win, two without scoring, and two without avoiding defeat before welcoming Los Cafeteros to San Juan and receiving a massive confidence boost via Messi.

Argentina's World Cup qualifying campaign so far

1. Argentina 0-2 Ecuador (Without Messi)
2. Paraguay 0-0 Argentina (Without Messi)
3. Argentina 1-1 Brazil (Without Messi)
4. Colombia 0-1 Argentina (Without Messi)
5. Chile 1-2 Argentina (With Messi)
6. Argentina 2-0 Bolivia (With Messi)
7. Argentina 1-0 Uruguay (With Messi)
8. Venezuela 2-2 Argentina (Without Messi)
9. Perú 2-2 Argentina (Without Messi)
10. Argentina 0-1 Paraguay (Without Messi)
11. Brazil 3-0 Argentina (With Messi)
12. Argentina 3-0 Colombia (With Messi)

A magnificent free-kick opened the scoring before Lucas Pratto and Angel Di Maria were set up by their captain to seal the victory and overtake Colombia in the race to Russia. It was a familiar story, as 10 of the last 12 goals scored by Argentina have come through Messi's boots, in the shape of four goals and six assists. In addition, La Albiceleste have won four of the five games with the forward on the pitch and just one of the seven when he's been absent. The Barcelona star may have been criticised for failing to deliver the Copa America in the summer but the fact remains that his 2016 performances for his country have been world class, scoring eight and assisting seven across just 11 games.