Lionel Messi’s once-in-a-lifetime career is over. The Argentine superstar finally won the World Cup.
Updated – Mon 19 Dec 22 01:04am
Source: ANI.
Russell: Lionel Messi’s once-in-a-lifetime career is complete. The Argentine superstar finally won the World Cup.
Although Kylian Mbappe scored his first hat-trick in 56 years in the final, Lionel Messi scored twice and then added another in the penalty shoot-out as Argentina held on to a 3-0 victory on Sunday. After a 3-3 draw, they beat France 4-2 on penalties to win the World Cup for the third time.
There is no debate now. Messi is undeniably the shrine of football’s greatest ever, and alongside Pele (a record three-time World Cup winner for Brazil) and Diego Maradona, the late Argentine superstar has often been compared to Messi.
Messi achieved what Maradona did in 1986 and won the World Cup for Argentina. The torch will one day be passed to Mbappe, whose last-minute goal ignited one of the most dramatic finals in the tournament’s 92-year history and emulated Jeff Hurst’s hat-trick for England in 1966, But not yet.
“Let’s go, Argentina!” Messi roared into the microphone during the post-match celebrations after a record-breaking 26th World Cup. Messi was in fine form from the start, giving Argentina the lead from the penalty spot and 36 minutes into Di Maria’s goal to make it 2-0.
Mbappe, on the other hand, remained largely unknown until he scored twice in 97 seconds – a penalty and a volley from inside the box – to send the game into extra time. Messi scored his second goal in the 108th minute to put Argentina on the brink of the title again, but there was still time for Mbappe to score another penalty to end a thrilling game war.
Gonzalo Monumento lost for France after Kingsley Coman’s shot was saved by Argentine keeper Emi Martinez and Aurelien Tchouameni Gonzalo Montiel scored the decisive penalty. “It’s my dream,” Martinez said.
The race for Europe’s four consecutive World Cup titles is over. The last South American champions were Brazil, also in Asia – when Japan and South Korea hosted the event in 2002.
Argentina won the last World Cups in 1978 and 1986. In Qatar, the country won last year’s Copa America, its first major trophy since 1993.
It’s the high point of Messi’s international career and it may not be over at the age of 35 because he’s playing as good as ever. After all, he ended the World Cup with seven goals, one goal behind Mbappe, who leads the first eight.
It was also the finale for a unique World Cup – the first to be held in the Middle East and the Arab world. For FIFA and Qatar organizers, the final between two major footballing nations and the world’s best players represented the perfect way to end a scandal-ridden vote since 2010 to hand the tournament to a The small Arab emirate has since been fraught with contentious tournaments.
The years-long scrutiny since then has centered on November-December instead of the traditional June-July, intense criticism of the treatment of migrant workers and criticism of bringing football’s biggest game to the A nation where homosexuality is prevalent is disturbed. Unlawful. On Sunday, there was one narrative most people were talking about: can Messi do it?
He could, though 23-year-old Mbappe – Messi’s team-mate at Paris Saint-Germain – did his best to emulate Pele by winning the first two World Cups. Messi became the first player to score in both the group stage and the knockout stage of a single World Cup.
Ever since Argentina’s improbable 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia in their opening group game, Messi has been a man on a mission – to take on the responsibility of leading his country at his final World Cup and Playing in the spirit of Maradona, combining his dazzling skills. Has a rare aggressive skill.
However, Maradona never scored in the final. Messi did, allowing him to erase the memory of his only other World Cup final – Argentina’s 1-0 loss to Germany in 2014, in which Messi squandered a brilliant second-half chance. That night, at the Maracanã, Messi gazed down at the golden World Cup trophy slipping past him. Eight years later, he will be lifting it at the most important moment of his career, which is unique.
result
France – 3
Mbappe 80′ (P), 81′, 118′ (P)
Argentina – 3
Messi 23′ (P), 108′, Di Maria 36′
penalty shootout
france 2
1 xx 1
Argentina 4
1 1 1 1
