At one end, stands a magician, who has been dazzling the world for nearly two decades, has a showcase full of Ballon d’Or trophies, has won every possible trophy in his club career and has already achieved immortality in football history.
Facing him is a player whose football career has been average at best. He has never played for an elite football club, has achieved nothing of real significance in his club or international career and won’t be considered even in the top 100 of the best footballers in the world right now, forget all-time.
However, on Saturday night in Doha, when the magician from Rosario, Lionel Messi, comes face to face with Mexico’s final line of defence, goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, the legions of Argentina fans will have one thought on their minds.
“Not again Ochoa, please not again.”
The legend of Ochoa
The legend of Guillermo Ochoa in World Cups began in the group-stage of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Ochoa, who was with the Mexico team in the previous two World Cups but didn’t get a game, was the team’s first-choice keeper in the Brazil World Cup.
Mexico was slotted in Group A alongside hosts Brazil, Croatia and Cameroon. In the first match, Ochoa didn’t let Samuel Eto’s Cameroon score past him.
But it was in Mexico’s second match in the World Cup where Ochoa truly grabbed the attention of the football world.
A Brazil attack led by Neymar Junior pressed hard for a goal for 90 minutes, came close multiple times, but on every occasion this six-foot tall Mexican goalkeeper with curly hair denied them.
The match ended in a 0-0 draw, but anyone who saw the match would attest that it was actually a battle between Ochoa and Brazil’s forward line, a battle that the Mexican keeper won.
Ochoa finally conceded a goal in Mexico’s third match against Cameroon, but that was right at the end of the game, when Mexico were already 3-0 up.
In the round of 16 game against Netherlands, Ochoa kept a clean-sheet till the 87th minute before Wesley Schneider’s shot from the edge of the box got the better of him.
The game was still level at 1-1 before the Dutch won a penalty in the fourth minute of extra time but this time, Ochoa couldn’t save Mexico.
Although Mexico's journey ended in the second round, Ochoa’s heroics throughout the tournament left a permanent impression on the hearts of football fans.
Also, Ochoa’s love-affair with the World Cup wasn’t over just yet.
The legend continues in Russia
In the 2018 World Cup, Mexico found itself in the group of death alongside defending champions Germany, South Korea and Sweden.
Mexico’s first match in the World Cup was against Germany. The North American team was expected to get rolled over by the German machine. But Ochoa had other plans.
Ochoa seemingly resurfaced after four years of obscurity and once again captured the attention of the football world when he denied the German team from scoring a single goal.
Ochoa made multiple saves in the game, but his most spectacular save came in the first half, when he took three steps to his left and took a desperate leap to deny a picture perfect free kick taken by Toni Kroos from entering the top-left corner of the goal post.
Ochoa couldn’t really replicate his performance in Mexico’s following matches in the Russia World Cup, conceding once against South Korea, thrice against Sweden and twice against Brazil in the round of 16 match, but his performance against Germany was enough to secure his reputation as a World Cup specialist.
The return of the World Cup specialist
At 37 years of age, Ochoa is playing his fifth and, in all probability, last World Cup in Qatar.
Even in the final stages of his career, Ochoa is considered as Mexico’s best option between the posts. On 22 November, in Mexico’s opening match of the World Cup, Ochoa showed why.
Mexico dominated that match but failed to score. Poland, on the other hand, had a golden opportunity to steal a victory when they were awarded a penalty in the 56th minute.
Poland’s talisman and one of the best strikers in the world right now, Robert Lewandowski stepped up to take it.
But Lewandowski was left in disbelief when he saw the Mexican goalkeeper jump to his left and save the goal with his outstretched left hand.
Ochoa’s brilliance earned Mexico one point from the opening game. Now, they are up against the group favourites Argentina, who are still recovering from the shock 0-2 defeat against Saudi Arabia.
Argentina desperately need a win to get their World Cup campaign back on track. On the other hand a defeat would knock them out from the World Cup, which is set to be Messi’s swansong.
On paper, Argentina outgun their Mexican opponents in every position. Past record also is in their favour and they are favourites to get all three points against Mexico.
But the one Mexican player who could turn pre-match assumptions on its head is Guillermo Ochoa.
Ochoa didn’t allow former World Cup winner Brazil to score against him in the 2014 World Cup. He did the same against Germany in the Russia World Cup.
Now, will Argentina be next?