THE man dubbed by many – myself included – as the greatest of all time has finally joined the World Cup party.

When his country needed him most, Lionel Messi stepped up for Argentina, scoring his first goal of the 2018 tournament in the nervy 2-1 win over Nigeria that saw them scrape through from Group D.

I’ve said previously in this column that I am very much “Team Messi” when it comes to the debate over whether or not he is better than Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo – the other great of our time.

However, even I could admit that his first few performances in Russia have been below-par and that Ronaldo is outshining him so far.

Is Argentina’s progression to the knockout stages just the catalyst Messi needs to show his best form?

Only time will tell, but a hellishly tough last-16 tie against Group C winners France awaits.

We are coming to the end of the group stages now and I find it amazing that, at the time of writing, we have only had one goalless draw. A true demonstration of how open and exciting this tournament has been.

We will have a break on Friday before the knockout rounds begin on Saturday.

A whole day without football…I have no idea how I will cope!

Even though we are getting towards the sharp end of the tournament, I am still yet to be blown away by any team.

Spain typified this in their 2-2 draw with already-eliminated Morocco on Monday night. In truth, it was a point they barely deserved and I have yet to see them play convincingly.

To that end, my heart goes out to the Moroccans. In all three group games they have played vibrant, attractive football but are on the first plane home.

Before their unfortunate draw with Spain, a 95th-minute own goal did for them against Iran, Lady Luck simply laughed in their face against Portugal.

So if none of the big boys have impressed, who is standing out from the crowd?

This may be a controversial opinion, but I think Croatia have gone from dark horses to legitimate candidates to win it.

If there is a better midfield unit at this World Cup, I am yet to see it with Luka Modric the competition’s stand-out player so far.

Warrington Guardian:

Croatia captain Luka Modric has been one of the World Cup's stand-out players so far. Picture by Natacha Pisarenko/AP Photo

Like many of the more heralded teams, there were question marks defensively but they have progressed from their group by conceding just one goal – a penalty in their final group game against Iceland.

I genuinely think they can get to the semis at the very least.

Speaking of going far…how about England?

World Cup fever is slowly gripping the nation and excitement is at fever pitch after Sunday’s 6-1 mauling of Panama.

Let’s have it right, there will be a few pub teams around Warrington who may feel they would give Panama a decent game, but this is the sort of game England have struggled with in the past.

The ruthless way in which they swept the minnows aside in the first half is something we have all been wanting to see, and it has got us all giddy about this team’s potential.

Warrington Guardian:

Warrington's own Jesse Lingard celebrates scoring for England during their 6-1 rout of Panama. Picture by Adam Davy/PA Wire

Thursday night’s clash with Belgium will tell us a lot more about the Three Lions, albeit it could be a weakened Red Devils side that takes the field.

Indeed, both managers could be tempted into changes, with qualification secured and with second place in Group G now looking like a more favourable option in terms of potential opponents.

Either way, two sides who like to attack and who are a little suspect at the back? It should be entertaining at the very least.