How overburdened Messi bailed out lacklustre Argentina

Without Lionel Messi, Argentina would've missed the World Cup for the first time in 48 years. It's as simple as that.

Just when his teammates looked to be out of ideas, Messi put three goals past Ecuador to lead his country to Russia.

Related: Messi the hero as Argentina avoids disaster to nab World Cup berth

Entering Tuesday's finale, Argentina had fewer goals than basement-dweller Venezuela. Three different coaches tried and failed to find the right combinations. None of the 40-plus players who trotted onto the pitch, in a myriad of formations, seemed to click over 18 qualifiers. All the while, corruption charges against Argentina's top football officials cast a massive cloud over the entire program.

But among all the variables was Messi. He was the difference.

Not that it was easy. From March 2015 to the present day, teams found ways to isolate the 30-year-old virtuoso. By suffocating Messi, opponents cut off Argentina's lifeline. They didn't have to worry about his teammates because they posed little or no threat, and very rarely would anyone offer Messi viable options. They'd give him the ball and watch idly, expecting something special to happen.

And then they wondered why it didn't happen all the time.

At Barcelona, it's so different. His club teammates interact with him and move like an organism. It's the kind of understanding that's developed over years. In this particular Argentina side - disrupted by sackings and boardroom turmoil - no one had the luxury of time.

Messi barely got help from the one player who could connect with him. Sergio Aguero started with Messi on only two occasions in the qualification campaign, and it's no coincidence Argentina won both of those matches. The constant turnover at the striker position made Messi's task so much more difficult.

Gonzalo Higuain, Aguero, Paulo Dybala, Mauro Icardi, Lucas Pratto, Carlos Tevez, and Dario Benedetto all traded starts and mustered a measly three goals between them. So, not only did Messi have to make plays from deeper positions - where he'd rarely get a break from all the hacking and tackling - he'd also have to race into the penalty area and get in positions to score the goals his strikers couldn't.

Even for Messi, that's a difficult burden to bear.

Much of Argentina's failures in qualifying came down to one-dimensional play. Last week, Peru committed multiple men to Messi and forced him to take speculative shots on target.

Other times, a nearby runner would blow by Messi and make himself utterly useless to his teammate. The closest outlet stood several yards away.

And when Messi had time to dart into space, defenders would collapse onto him and block his shot.

Things were different in Quito on Tuesday. As if compelled to prove, once again, to his countrymen that he's worthy of Maradona's status, Messi took on multiple defenders and single-handedly averted disaster.

It helped that his teammates moved for once, playing quick passes and slipping into open areas to bamboozle the opposing backline. The swift one-two with Angel Di Maria set up the opener and gave Argentina much-needed hope after the embarrassment of conceding within the first minute.

But more than anything, Messi persevered on an underperforming team that often left it to him to find the solutions. And though it was difficult - even for his standards - he did.