ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — High in the stands, Diego Maradona raised his eyes to the heavens, his arms in supplication, and muttered two words: Gracias, Dios.

Not for the first time, Maradona detected divine intervention just when Argentina had needed it most. This time, though, it had been a holy trinity, rather than a hand of God, on the field in front of him: the first touch to cushion the ball; the second to roll it into position; and the third to sweep it past Francis Uzoho, Nigeria’s goalkeeper, and send a nation into rapture. Lionel Messi, once more, had delivered salvation.

But Argentina’s deliverance could not be that simple, of course. Its campaign in Russia is only a couple of weeks old, in simple chronological terms, but it has been conducted against such a fever pitch of emotion that all involved must feel as though they have been at Bronnitsy, the team’s training base, for years.

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There have been rumors of mutinies and allegations of coups, leaked WhatsApp messages, pointed comments and staged reconciliations, baffling tactics and incoherent team selections, countless inquests and accusations, and thorough forensic examinations of the nation’s soul. It would not have been right for this evening to have been straightforward. It had to be complex and hollowing and euphoric, a 90-minute live episode of a never-ending telenovela. It had to be distinctly, unmistakably, Argentine.