by: Syed Athar Abbas (Athar G) TN Sports News:
This night in Qatar will always be remembered as the final chapter in Messi’s World Cup saga that was thrilling from start to finish. In the darkness of the Lucille Stadium, Lionel Messi stepped into the spotlight alone to claim the one prize that had so painfully eluded him during his golden career.
The 35-year-old Argentine legend folded his arms before the big moment, donned the traditional Arab bisht and then lifted the World Cup trophy into the air in an explosive storm of electric lights. Messi fulfilled his dream. Their lack of glittering trophies was made up for by one of the most spectacular finals in football World Cup history, during which emotions and heart-rates around the world became hard to control.
This is the one trophy that his millions of fans will now present as testimony that he is the greatest player in the game. The 15-inch gold trophy will help his testimony and make it difficult for those who oppose him to present their case. Comparative assessments span generations, making it difficult to fully assess any such position, but there is no doubt that Messi will now be counted among the likes of Pele and Mira Donna.
Maradona, whose number 10 jersey was played by Lionel Messi, is also a strong contender for the greatest player award. Until now, there was only one difference between Messi and Maradona. Maradona won Argentina the World Cup 36 years ago. Now this difference has also disappeared.
Whenever there is a debate about the greatest football player of all time, Messi’s name will be mentioned and those who name him after this victory have a powerful weapon. How to tell the story of the rise of Messi? Where to begin recounting the events that culminated in Argentina’s World Cup victory, a tournament with which Messi’s name is forever linked.
The journey that started in 2006 saw Messi face several disappointments, including losing the World Cup final to Germany in 2014, but Messi should have known that this honor would come so easily. no. And all this was possible despite the best efforts of a 23-year-old player whose name, if not on the list yet, will definitely be there in the days to come; Kylian Mbappe of France.
It looked like France had rolled out the red carpet for Messi’s coronation as France held their hands in front of Argentina for 80 minutes of the match. Lucille’s field was similar to that of Messi, where he first scored a penalty and became the first player to score in the group stage, round of sixteen, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final in the same tournament.
Messi then set up Angel Di Maria for the second goal, and after the expected victory had already begun, Mbappe launched a surprise battle at the other end. Mbappe scored the first penalty 10 minutes before the end of the match and the second shortly after. Now Messi had a meaningful smile of uncertainty on his face as if he was saying ‘not again’.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni opted for the 34-year-old Sali Di Maria but it looked like a defensive decision when he was replaced by Marcos Acuna after 64 minutes. Messi tried his best to get Argentina back into the game but France were energized by Mbappe’s aggressive play. Both the game and emotions ran high in overtime. The anxiety of the fans was so obvious that many people could not even look at the field to see what would happen in the next moment.
The tense match went down to penalties where the Argentine team won four to two. Gonzalo Montiel scored the decisive goal, but Messi fell to his knees with tears in his eyes. His hands were raised towards the sky. In no time, T-shirts with light blue and white stripes surrounded them. In the midst of the victory celebration, Messi also picked up the microphone to address the Argentina fans.
Messi also received the Golden Ball award at the tournament and is the first player to win it twice since the award was introduced in 1982. He won this award for the first time in 2014. Messi has played a role in 21 goals for his team in the World Cup so far, 13 of which have been his own. After this World Cup, his total number of goals has reached 793.
However, there was only one thing that mattered that night. Messi was finally a World Cup winner. The blemish of the shocking defeat at the hands of Saudi Arabia at the start of the World Cup was gone. It was Messi who opened Argentina’s World Cup campaign with a superb goal against Mexico and there was no stopping them until the final.
Messi had the golden trophy in his hands. His mission, which began 16 years ago, had been accomplished.
