The glorious rage of Lionel Messi: ‘You look at his eyes and he switches’

The moment the final whistle was blown on a chaotic afternoon in Atlanta, the emotion surged through Lionel Messi. The moment he uncovered his face, you could see the tears were starting to flow. Tears of joy? It looked more like cathartic relief. Nineteen minutes earlier, his time on the World Cup stage seemed to be drawing to an unexpectedly early close. He had missed a penalty and Argentina were 2-0 down to Egypt in the round of 16, the defence of their world title seemingly in tatters. For a time in the second half, he looked dazed, as if…