Tribute to Messi! | An editorial on the World Cup soccer tournament

The 22nd FIFA World Cup ended on Sunday. 1.12 billion watched the France-Croatia final four years ago, while 1.5 billion watched the final between Argentina and France in Qatar.
A crowd of 88,966 watched the final at the Luzail Stadium in Qatar. From November 20 to the final match on December 18, the small Gulf nation saw a total of 7.6 lakh fans.
Sunday’s match at Lusail Stadium in Qatar began with the question of whether France would retain the trophy this time around or whether Lionel Messi’s Argentina would win the trophy. When Argentina’s two-goal lead late in the first half was equalized by France’s two goals in the last ten minutes, the fans waited with unprecedented passion.
France equalized after Argentina scored in extra time, deciding the win in a penalty shootout. Argentina won 4-2. This is the third time in the history of the World Cup that the result has been decided in a penalty shootout. In 1994, Brazil beat Italy and in 2006, Italy beat France in a penalty shootout.
After 36 years, Argentina won the World Cup. Argentina is the first South American country to win the World Cup since Brazil in 2002.
Two years after his death, Lionel Messi, who was announced by him as his successor, has achieved the feat that Diego Maradona could not achieve again, and has paid tribute to Maradona.
Argentina’s Lionel Messi has become the first player to score a goal in all the 32-team World Cup 2022 World Cup, group stage, 16-team stage, quarter-final game, semi-final game and final game. He has overtaken Germany’s Lothar Mathews to become the record holder for the most appearances (26) in World Cup matches. Messi’s record of 2 goals in the World Cup final, 13 World Cup match goals, 7 goals for Argentina in this match alone, and 98 goals for his team so far have made him the best player in the world.
In the last 92 years only Brazil, Germany, Italy, Uruguay, France, Argentina, Spain and England have won the World Cup. The countries that have won the trophy more than once are Brazil (5), Germany (4), Italy (4), Argentina (3), France (2) and Uruguay (2).
France’s dream of winning this time was dashed, as Brazil had done in 1958 and 1962. Not only that, the biggest tragedy is that France lost to Italy in 2006 and now to Argentina, not in a direct clash but in a penalty shootout.
As the FIFA World Cup moves to Asia for the first time, there are signs that some Asian teams will win the trophy in the future. Examples include Saudi Arabia’s 2-1 win over Argentina and Japan’s defeat of four-time World Cup winners Germany.
No one expected South Korea to beat Portugal. Morocco is the first African team to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup. The 22nd-ranked African nation in the world, Morocco, beat the likes of Spain, Portugal and Belgium to a thunderous cheer from the fans in Qatar.
Let alone Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Pepe, the ongoing 22nd FIFA World Cup in Qatar has identified some new stars of hope. England’s Bugayo Saka, Jude Bellingham, Netherlands’ Cody Kapko, Portugal’s Gonzalo Ramos, Argentina’s Julian Alvarez, Croatia’s Josko Guardiol are likely to set records in the next World Cup.
The next World Cup will be held in North America in 2026 by the three countries of USA, Canada and Mexico. Fans have already started waiting for it.