Maradona's spirit lives on in Messi

Argentina's captain, Diego Armando Maradona (left) kissing the 1986 World Cup trophy at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City and Argentina's forward, Lionel Messi (right) kissing the 2022 World Cup trophy at Lusail Stadium north of Doha in Qatar. – AFP

...As Argentina wins 3rd W/Cup

Lionel Messi perfectly displayed his football wizardry in the world cup final on Sunday, bringing the curtain down on his football career by finally capturing the major title that had eluded him. In the end, the greatest player of his generation, if not all time, triumphed in arguably the greatest World Cup final of all time.

Messi was a calming presence amid frequent outbreaks of chaos at the Lusail Stadium, where Argentina twice squandered winning positions before winning on penalties after the game ended 3-3 in extra time. Before the game, Argentina's raucous fans roared their approval as a giant television screen played a tribute to the late Diego Maradona, featuring clips of his legendary goal against England in the 1986 World Cup.

That was all the motivation Messi needed to set about winning Argentina's first World Cup in 36 years. Maradona had also inspired Argentina's 1986 victory, helping them recover from a 2-0 deficit before defeating West Germany 3-2. Messi had cut a despondent figure eight years ago, finishing on the losing side as Argentina was defeated 1-0 in extra time by Germany in the 2014 World Cup final at the Maracana Stadium.

After that defeat, Messi faced the prospect of joining German legend Karl-Heinz Rummenigge as the only captain to lead his country to defeat in two World Cup finals. On Sunday, however, it became clear that Messi had no intention of joining that unwelcome club. Within minutes of the game's start, Messi was in his stride, demanding possession and directing traffic with his trademark grace, repeatedly picking up Angel Di Maria down the left flank. When Di Maria was fouled inside the area by Ousmane Dembele on 21 minutes, Messi stepped up to calmly fire his team into the lead with a nerveless penalty which is his 97th international goal and his 12th in World Cups.

Extra-time drama

Messi was buried under a mountain of Argentine teammates in the celebrations that followed but he was soon back on his feet tormenting France. After a period of Argentine dominance, Messi produced a delightful flick to send Julian Alvarez racing into space down the right flank. Alvarez found Alexis Mac Allister who in turn picked out Di Maria who made it 2-0. It looked like the party was starting early as a subdued France struggled to get into the game.

Then suddenly out of nowhere Kylian Mbappe scored twice in a minute with less than 10 minutes remaining to turn the game on its head. Still Messi would not be denied. In extra-time he tested France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris with a rasping shot as he attempted to drag Argentina to victory by sheer force of will. Then in the second period of extra-time, the little magician struck again. Lautaro Martinez’s shot was parried by Lloris and Messi, anticipating the rebound, jabbed home the finish from close range for 3-2.

Wild celebrations followed but still France were not beaten. Argentina substitute Gonzalo Montiel conceded a late penalty in extra-time and Mbappe stepped up to make it 3-3 from the spot. Yet if there was any chance of Messi crumbling in the shootout – he famously missed a penalty in the 2016 Copa America defeat to Chile – he dispelled it immediately as he rolled home Argentina’s opening kick. From there his World Cup fate was left in the hands of his teammates, and goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez made a huge save before Montiel made amends for his earlier penalty concession to seal Argentina’s win..


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