History appears to be repeating itself in favour of Lionel Messi and Argentina, after the reigning champions kicked off their World Cup defence with a June 16 fixture, mirroring a pattern that has accompanied eventual winners in three of the last four editions of the tournament.
Argentina defeated Algeria 3-0 in their opening Group J encounter at Kansas City Stadium on June 16, with Messi scoring all three goals in a historic individual display.
The result has reignited talk of an unusual trend that has favoured teams playing their opening fixture on that exact date.
At South Africa 2010, Spain’s first match of the tournament came on June 16 against Switzerland, and the Spaniards went on to lift the trophy. Four years later in Brazil, Germany also opened their campaign on June 16, facing Portugal, before going on to win the tournament.
The pattern repeated itself at Russia 2018, when
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