[ad_1]
This was Lionel Messi’s World Cup tournament, the whole way through. On Sunday, however, his superstar counterpart for France, Kylian Mbappé, did everything he possibly could to deny the greatest player of his generation his elusive first World Cup title.
But in the end, not even a Mbappé hat trick, in perhaps the most dramatic and heart-stopping soccer game in human history, could the thwart Messi’s magic.
Messi scored a pair of goals in a final that will be discussed and celebrated for decades, as Argentina defeated France in a 4-2 penalty shootout, after extra ended in an unbelievable 3-3 tie. The victory gave Argentina the third World Cup title in the soccer-mad nation’s glorious history, and its first since 1986. Messi now possesses the one trophy to elude him—the most important trophy in the world’s popular game.
Argentina dominated the start of the final in Lusail, Quatar, and took a 2-0 lead into the half. The roars of Argentinian fans seemed to drown out all sound in the stadium. In the 23rd minute, Messi stood focused, ready to take a penalty shot in a scoreless game that Argentina was firmly dominating. Messi stepped to the ball, stopped to juke out France keeper Hugo Lloris, and placed it in the right side of his net, his fourth penalty goal in the World Cup in five attempts. The pressure of the penalty shot suffocates most players. All tournament long, the gravity of these moments seemed to make Messi better.
Ángel Fabián Di María, who plays for Juventus in Italy’s Serie A, also starred for the Albecentis in the first half. It was Di María, after all, who drew the penalty that led to Messi’s goal. And in the 36th minute, Di María finished off a sequence that should be replayed by any soccer coach worth his or her salt, the world over, as model for unselfish behavior on the pitch. Messi started the…
[ad_2]
