Lionel Messi has led Argentina to World Cup glory after the most thrilling final in the 92-year history of the tournament.
Argentina took the lead with first two goals through Messi and Angel Di Maria, only for Kylian Mbappe to score a late brace equalising. Messi restored Argentina’s lead in extra time that could have settled the win without an penalty shootout, but Mbappe again hit back for France, completing his hat-trick that ended the extra time on a ground of draw 3-3 and taking the game to a penalty shootout.
Argentina won the shootout 4-2, to claim the World Cup and victory in one of the sport’s all-time great games.
Roger Federer, who has won 20 Grand Slam singles titles and a record eight men’s singles Wimbledon titles, has said: “Fairytale stuff Argentina! Time and time again you (Messi) have redefined greatness. It’s a privilege to watch you.”
And Andy Murray, the double Wimbledon and Olympic champion, has added: “Is Messi the best athlete of all time? Forget just football. What a man.”
Analytically, one of the most exciting World Cup finals of all time was won on penalties by Argentina after Kylian Mbappe had scored a hat-trick to force the shootout.
Argentina were coasting to victory with an hour gone with the score at 2-0 thanks to goals by Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria. But when Di Maria came off in the 64th minute the game changed, and France and Mbappe’s confidence grew and grew.
The France forward scored twice in the space of two minutes, the first from the spot and the second a superb finish on the volley. That took the game to extra time.
Argentina went ahead through Messi’s close-range finish but Gonzalo Montiel’s handball gave Mbappe the chance to complete his hat-trick. He went the same way with his second penalty, hard to Emiliano Martinez’s right.
Martinez was Argentina’s hero in the shootout, saving a spot kick from Kingsley Coman before Aurelien Tchouameni put his effort wide. Montiel, who had given away the penalty in the 117th minute, scored the one that sealed the victory.
Highlights of the World Cup awarding ceremony included the gallantry emergence from amidst the crowd of President of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, who had earlier described the Qatar hosting as making the World Cup 2022 the best so far in the history of the soccer game. He was followed by the Emir of Qatar, His Royal Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, then President of France, Emmanuel Macron, and the President of Argentina, Alberto Fernández.
All the leaders respectively decorated the participants with their deserving medals and just before the main thing, Emir of Qatar Al-Thani had dressed Messi in the Arab opening gown called al-kemba, and then the World Cup trophy, made of pure gold, was lifted from its seat by FIFA President Infantino, handed to the Qatari President, who officially presented it to Captain of the winning team, Messi, amidst pumps and glitters with the entire Doha’s stadium blasting in beautiful colours and almost never-seen lightening splendours.
The takeaway from Qatar is in message to the West, which earlier attempted to blackmail the Islamic world nation with untenable human rights claims by which they required the hosting country to compromise its law by allowing gay and other unexcusable moral and other crimes some visitors would love to perpetrate.
FIFA President Infantino, however, stopped the Western propaganda that tended to present the Islamic nation as unfriendly. In the end, even the blackmailers of the early time saw Qatar as a World Cup experience they cannot wish away in a hurry.
