A lot has been said about Lionel Messi this tournament.The 31-year-old has been nowhere near his best in Argentina's first two games.Without their star man performing, Jorge Sampioli's side could only manage one point from their opening two games in group D.Messi needed to step it up against Nigeria in their decider, and boy did he do so.Instead of looking nervous before the game, he looked focused.And that focus helped him score an exquisite goal in the first-half to give his side the lead.The Barcelona star took down an Ever Banega through-ball brilliantly, before caressing the ball into the corner with his right foot.It really was a stunning finish.

While the relief on his face as plain to see, it could also be seen on the face of Diego Maradona.

The Argentina great has offered his encouragement to Messi after he received criticism for his first two games, and he had a brilliant reaction to his goal.

Watch it here:

Brilliant. That is so much passion.

The pressure was on for Messi, and he did not disappoint with his first-half display against Nigeria.

It seems Maradona enjoyed it just as much as him.

Rio Ferdinand said before the game how Messi does not need to win this World Cup to be considered the greatest of all time.

“No (he doesn’t need to win the World Cup to prove himself),” Ferdinand said of Lionel Messi. “I argue with my friends all the time about this.

“I look at it like this: sustained greatness beats greatness over a short period of time. It has too.

“The body of work that he’s got over that long 11, 12 years, I think outweighs anything anyone else would do.

“Over Ronaldinho over two or three years at Barcelona, Maradona at a World Cup and a few seasons at Napoli.

“You can’t compare them to the likes of Messi, and we can take it even further even with Cristiano.”