IAN McFARLANE reflects on how one of the world’s best teams almost missed out on Russia 2018…

SOUTH AMERICA

Star of the show: Argentina talisman Lionel Messi

IN MY opinion, a catastrophe was averted in the last round of South American World Cup qualification fixtures.
Argentina were on the brink of not qualifying for the World Cup for the first time since 1970.
Enter Lionel Messi with a stunning hattrick in Ecuador, resulting in a 3-1 win, a third-place finish and a berth at the finals in Russia next summer.
I don’t know what it is, but since I can remember the Argenti...