The miserable Messi stat that sums up Argentina's attacking nightmare against Croatia

The star man barely got a sniff of the ball in the first half as his supply was limited by an effective performance from their Group D rivals

Croatia may have discovered the best way to stop Lionel Messi – simply don’t let him touch the ball.

The Argentina and Barcelona talisman entered the second game of the 2018 World Cup looking for a measure of redemption after missing a penalty against Iceland that contributed to a disappointing 1-1 draw in his team’s opening game.

But Croatia appeared determined to deny him that in the first half of the contest, as Messi simply was not afforded much in the way of opportunities to do much for Argentina.