It took World Cup fans 119 minutes to learn what Atlanta knew about Thiago Almada | OneFootball

The World Cup is reaching its climax, with several teams already qualified and others on the verge of heading home empty-handed.

With at least six national teams already through to the Round of 32, football's biggest tournament is beginning to take the shape that every fan loves most: the knockout rounds.

Recently, Argentina defeated Austria 2-0, setting a precedent that they are more than ready to defend the crown against anyone. With two goals against the Europeans, Lionel Messi became the all-time leading goalscorer of the World Cups.

However, there is one former Atlanta United player who doesn’t get enough recognition: Thiago Almada.

It took 119 minutes for the World to learn what the Five Stripes fans already know about Almada

In this tournament, Lionel Scaloni implemented a 4-4-2 system to give Lionel Messi a break when defending without exposing the spaces behind the No. 10.

In moments when the team's structure becomes too rigid, the one player with enough creativity and freedom to get his teammates moving is former Atlanta United star Thiago Almada.

After his movements, players like Enzo Fernandez, Rodrigo De Paul, and Alexis McCallister started to have more mobility to try and find the goal.

The Atletico Madrid player still has the personality of a street footballer. What does this mean? In a world of soccer where we don’t have many flashy moments, Almada remains one of the few athletes who gambles on a 1v1.

You can see it for yourselves during matches. It's exactly what he used to do at Atlanta United. Whenever the team was static, moving the ball between the center backs, he would drop deep to ask for it and start bringing the rest of his teammates into the game.

Out wide, he's like a demon, always looking for space or a forward pass. Very rarely will you see him play the ball backward.

I know Argentina is winning by the essential and beautiful performance of Lionel Messi. But the contributions of Thiago Almada cannot and should not be overlooked by the soccer fans watching the South American squad.

The next time you see Thiago Almada in the starting squad, watch how he moves, how he asks for the ball, and how he defends to recover the ball.

Because that is another great quality of the former Botafogo midfielder, his defensive contributions are above average, and they are also one of the main reasons why Argentina enjoys so much possession of the ball.