Long after the vanquished Dutch had left the field, the Argentinian players danced in front of their dancing, flag-waving fans, all ignited by the belief that maybe Messi's time has come at long last. The mercurial 35-year-old did all he could in the 90 minutes to set up a semi-final against Croatia, who beat Brazil on penalties earlier on Friday, but a late collective collapse almost saw him make an embarrassing World Cup exit. Leading 2-0, it all went wrong for Argentina as journeyman striker Wout Weghorst pulled a goal back for the Dutch, and then added a cheeky, brilliantly worked second on the stroke of full time to make it 2-2 and drag Messi and his team into deep, deep waters. After seeing a late shot deflected wide in extra time, Messi looked up to the heavens in exasperation, as if wondering how much longer he would have to carry a team that has done so little to make life easy for him in the five World Cups he has played in. Aside from a solitary final appearance … [Read more...] about Argentina fans begin to believe as Messi wills them into World Cup semis