Argentina’s camps were gnashing their teeth after their 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia last Tuesday, November, 22nd 2022. Of course, Argentina’s victory over Saudi Arabia had been presumed by every creature because of the confirmed presence of football star Lionel Messi in the game, which turned into a bitter one in the end.
Messi, being the team captain, was once again shouldering the burden of Argentina’s expectations, and he knew that any failure on that stage, justified or not, could be painted as Messi’s failure.
During Argentina’s Saturday match with Mexico, Messi had been on the margins but took center stage to devastating effect as Mexico fell victim to the magical left foot that broke the hearts of so many opponents.
Amid an explosion ignited by the noise of excitement and happiness from Argentina’s boosters for the victory, President Yoweri Museveni kissed the land of Entebbe airport while from the three day state visit to Vietnam, where he lobbied for Uganda through bilateral talks with President Nguyen to deepen relations in trade, ICT, agriculture, and health cooperation in a bid to unlock employment opportunities for Ugandans.
President Museveni has repeatedly taken foreign trips to defend Uganda’s interests in order to catapult the country into the middle income class, just as Messi’s goal cleared the way for Argentina to the next level.
In addition to striving for Uganda’s achievements, President Museveni has continued to fight on against enemies of the country because he knows that Uganda’s failure at any stage is his failure.
Unlike NUP leader Bobi Wine, whose foreign trips are solely intended to undermine Uganda’s achievements and tarnish the country’s image, President Museveni’s foreign trips are solely intended to entice investors to invest in Uganda.
But like Messi, who quizzed a rock to produce water by wiring a ball into Mexico’s net, Museveni has been strategic enough to cut the opponent’s knot and lead Uganda to a golden stage.
While in Vietnam, His Excellency continued to fire powerful shots to attract more investors, market Uganda’s products, and solidify bilateral relations, just like the left-footed goal Messi scored for Argentina in Qatar, giving them concrete hope and opportunities to excel to the next level.
Economists believe that President Museveni’s harmonious relations with the outside world are yielding economic benefits for the country day by day, something that has excited Ugandans to embrace him with the aim of securing their future.
This reminds me of how Messi ran towards supporters with arms outstretched in that familiar celebratory pose, engulfed by teammates who knew the man they rely on most had delivered again.
Currently, Messi’s Argentina is ranked third in the current FIFA world rankings, has three points in Group C, and is due to play its last match against Poland on Wednesday at 10 p.m. local time. Football analysts believe Argentina has more chances to make it to the round of 16 or knockout stage.
