Lionel Messi delivers on day of the talisman

DELIVER: Lionel Messi of Argentina celebrates scoring their team's first goal during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group C match between Argentina and Mexico at Lusail Stadium. Pic: Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

For the first time in a long time Msheireb Downtown was quiet. Sunday mornings aren’t supposed to be easy in this part of the world: it’s the start of the working week.

But this Sunday morning, it was sleepy and slow to stir. After the day and especially the night before, it seemed as if everyone had chosen not a sharp intake of breath but a long and deep one, resting and refilling lungs that had been emptied into the Lusail sky hours earlier. Those lungs’ll be busy over the next five days.