The Argentina striker Lionel Messi has been spotted in a market in Nizhny Novgorod, doing his souvenir-hunting rather earlier than might have been expected.
Argentina were one of the pre-World Cup favourites, but a disappointing 1-1 draw with Iceland, and a humbling 3-0 reverse against Croatia has left them on the brink of returning home ahead of schedule.
Messi missed a penalty in the Iceland game, and can reasonably be said to have cost his country two points, and the chance to win the World Cup. He consoled himself by shopping for some of those Russian Matryoshka dolls that have a smaller one inside, and then a smaller one inside that one, and then a smaller one inside that one, and then an even smaller one inside THAT one, and so on and on until the dolls are so small that you can't see them with the naked eye anymore, and an electron microscope is needed.
They are also known as either 'nesting dolls' or 'stacking dolls', but not 'Babushka dolls', which is a common mistake.
If Argentina don't beat Nigeria in their next game, the chumps are out.