Thierry Henry talking about Lionel Messi's competitive spirit explains everything: "Don't wake up the beast"

Perhaps it can't be considered a miracle due to being the reigning World Cup and Copa America champions, but Argentina truly pulled out all the stops to eliminate Egypt in a 3-2 win after being down by two goals late in the game. Of course, everything is easier when you have Lionel Messi on your side.

Once again, Messi proved to be the main difference-maker. An early penalty kick of his was saved, and he wasn't playing a very good match, but once he turned it on with about 15 minutes left, it was the start of something special. An assist on Cuti Romero's goal was followed by a game-tying strike from the captain himself. Then, Argentina was plunged into euphoria by Enzo Fernandez, and now the quarterfinals await.

Somehow, someway, this Argentina team keep surprising everyone. Messi is the one who makes them tick, though, even at 39 years old. Despite being clearly affected by his penalty kick miss, Messi had the mental fortitude to keep pushing until the referee blew the final whistle. That's when Messi couldn't contain his emotions.

Thierry Henry once witness Leo Messi completely change his demeanor and dominate his FC Barcelona teammates

Watching Messi shed tears reminded one of his former teammates, Fox Soccer pundit and France legend Thierry Henry, of the old Messi. By retelling a story of their time at FC Barcelona, Henry explained why Messi lives and breathes football in a different way than others.

What happens with Leo is, sometimes don't wake up the beast. That's what happened, and I've seen it in training, closely. You know when you're in training and one of the coaches doesn't want to call a foul... The coach says, 'stop complaining, because it can happen in a game'. Next thing you know, you look at his eyes, and he switches. And he goes and gets that ball, and he scores three goals in a row. By scoring straight away, robbing the ball off you, scoring again, robbing the ball off you, scoring again. Ad he turns and says, 'next time call a foul'... When he goes into that mood, it's very difficult to stop him.

Thierry Henry on Lionel Messi

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