Doha: Before handing over the crown, when he reached the stage to receive the Golden Ball award, Argentina’s captain Lionel Messi kissed the world crown placed on the stage. This moment bears witness to how much he wanted the title that eluded him during his 16-year career. The player participated in the 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018 World Cups, but the Blues could not win the title. The 35-year-old Messi has now announced that he will not be in the next World Cup. So this time, Messi and his teammates came out to win the world title. The actor led from the front with a great performance. Messi scored seven goals in the Qatar World Cup, including two in the final.
Lionel Messi won the Golden Ball for the best player of the World Cup while Kylian Mbappe won the Golden Boot award for the player with the most goals. The player scored eight goals including a hat-trick in the final. But the Argentinian captain scored seven goals. Enzo Fernandez is the best young player of the World Cup. The Golden Glove for the best goalkeeper went to Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
Messi and Mbappe were in the race for the Golden Boot with five goals before the final. But Mbappe, who scored a hat-trick in the final, surpassed Messi. But Messi has more assists than Mbappe. If the goals were tied they would have been considered.
After 60 years, the French came to win the consecutive World Cup. But their dream did not blossom. This is Argentina’s third title. The Blue Army won the World Cup twice before this in 1978 and 1986. Messi and his team lost to Germany in the final of the 2014 World Cup. The loss was by one goal.
Meanwhile, Didier Deschamps became the sixth coach to lead a team to multiple World Cup finals with this final. In the past, only one of the coaches who have led teams to multiple finals has managed to achieve success. Italy won the 1934 and 1938 World Cups under the coaching of the legendary Vittorio Pozzo. But Deschamps could not add his name to this record.
Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick and Lionel Messi led from the front with a brace as Argentina finally emerged victorious in a death-defying final. After a 3-3 draw in the first two halves and extra time, Messi won the title in a penalty shootout. While four Argentinian players scored in the shootout, only two of the French team could see the target. Gonzalo Montiel, Leonardo Paredes, Paulo Dybala and Lionel Messi scored for the Blue Army. Both Kolo Muani and Mbappé were on target for France. But Xhuameni and Koeman missed the chance.
France came back through Mbappe against Argentina, who led with two goals from the first half. Angel Di Maria and Lionel Messi were the first to give the Blue Army the lead. Mbappe scored through a penalty in the 80th minute and a good move in the 81st minute. But in the 108th minute, Messi brought out his own form. Lautaro Martinez’s shot was blocked by Lloris in front of Messi. With this, Messi hit the goal post. The ball was blocked by Upamecano but crossed the goal line. But Mbappe did not give the Argentine a chance to console himself. In the 118th minute, the talented player shook the opposition again with a penalty. With this, the match was tied at 3-3 and went to the shootout.
Argentina took the first lead through a penalty in the 23rd minute. Messi scored a penalty after Ousmane Dembele brought down Angel Di Maria in the 20th minute. Then the second goal was scored in the 36th minute. The goal was assisted by McAllister. In the 45th minute, Lloris thwarted the chance that Argentina got at the French post. Mbappé and Kamavinka’s progress in the 95th minute and Messi’s goal-scoring shot in the 96th minute failed. Messi’s shot was blocked by Lloris as France’s advance was blocked by the Argentinian defence.
The lineup of the teams was released earlier. Angel Di Maria is back in the Argentine lineup. Adrien Rubio and Upamecano also played in the France team. In the 16th minute, the pass received by Di Maria through Messi was hit over the opposite post. Superstar Lionel Messi became the most capped player in the World Cup after Argentina played in the final against France. The player played the 26th match today.
Messi kisses the FIFA World Cup trophy