Extended Indian Summer brings Messi back to the summit again

NEW YORK, July 18 : When Argentina lost the 2016 Copa America final at MetLife Stadium, a heartbroken Lionel Messi tearfully announced his retirement from international football with the words "I've done all I can". 

At 29, he was one of the world's most decorated players at individual and club level but, after losses in three Copa America title deciders and the 2014 World Cup final, he looked destined never to take home a big international prize.

He was, of course, cajoled back into the Argentina shirt by an adoring nation and on Sunday will take the field at that same stadium, rebranded New York-New Jersey Stadium for this tournament, to play for a second successive World Cup winners' medal. 

The arguments over who is the greatest footballer of all time will rage on until the end of days, but you would have to go back to Diego Maradona or Pele to find a player with a similar individual influence on World Cup success. 

While Sunday's opponents Spain are a team built solidly on the collective, Messi's presence has been absolutely essential to five years of uninterrupted glory for the Albiceleste.

NATIONAL TOTEM

It is not just the goals and assists - although there have been plenty of both - Messi exists as a national totem around which an incredibly resilient team have rallied time and again to rescue triumph from the jaws of defeat. 

"It's all happiness, and it's all thanks to this group which, in the face of adversity, keeps going and going and never gets tired," Lautaro Martinez said after scoring the stoppage-time winner from Messi's assist in the semi-final against England. 

"We have the best player in the world as our example."

As well as the skill, Messi has shown remarkable durability by playing every minute of all