Marcos Rojo reveals what Lionel Messi said to Argentina players in half-time team talk.

Jorge Sampaoli's side have been poor in Russia so far and the fact they face France in the last 16 means they will seriously need to improve.

But there's reason to suggest they've turned a corner. Not only will the players now believe they can make something of their World Cup, but Messi has finally arrived.

So what did Messi say? Well, that much has now been revealed by Rojo, who claims his goal was inspired by the Barcelona man.

                                                               

He said: "Messi came up to us and told us to calm down and not be stressed. We felt nervous and that message helped us a lot and gave me personally a huge confidence boost.

"Messi is our captain and he's the best captain in the world, it was amazing to score that goal.

"Messi told everyone that it was either life or death. It could've gone badly. We could've conceded but Leo was stubborn.

"He told me to run forward. Even [Javier] Mascherano. He told everyone to attack no matter what. He truly read the game and risks. He's a leader. The best."

Messi's leadership has previously been brought into question but he delivered a World Cup-saving team talk when it mattered most for Argentina.