18 | December | 2022

Archive for December 18, 2022

Messi Scored Two… and won!

History partly repeated itself for Argentina manager and ex-West Ham player Lionel Scaloni with exactly the same scorelines of 2:0, 2:2, 3:2 and 3:3, which had made the 2006 FA Cup final between West Ham and Liverpool (in which Scaloni played as a defender for the Hammers) one of the most exciting in recent history. But this time Scaloni‘s team won the penalty shoot-out and thus deservedly a highly exciting and amazing World Cup final! But how France’s substitutions paid off and how “Les Bleus” came back from 2-0 down was just as impressive as the Argentines’ performance and the character this team showed not only in this final game!

Argentina had started into the World Cup in Qatar with a defeat to Saudi Arabia. Would Messi’s goals less than four weeks later now be enough to gift Argentina victory over France and win them the highest trophy in world football ? This was the question after 108 minutes of a nerve wrecking final of the Qatar World Cup! Argentina had been 2-0 up at the break, and then, after France had equalised and taken the game into extra time, Messi scored again and Argentina was in the driving seat on the road to their third World Cup!

But France’s star player Kilian Mbappe had other plans again. With his second penalty of the game the World Cup’s top scorer equalised just six minutes from the final whistle of extra time, and with 3-3 the game went to penalties. Mbappe hit the back of the net three times in this match, being the first player to score a hattrick in a World Cup final since Geoff Hurst in 1966.

Would history now repeat itself for Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni (West Ham v Liverpool 3-3 in 2006) and his team lose the penalty shootout like he did with West Ham in the FA cup Final?

No, history was reversed! As Argentina soon were 3-1 up in the shootout, it could even have been the same result with which West Ham had lost on penalties in the FA Cup final 2006… Emiliano Martínez had saved two of France‘s penalties – and if France missed their fourth penalty kick, the game would have been over. But Argentina had to take one more penalty because France’s Kolo Muani scored to make it 3-2.

Then it was Gonzalo Montiel to give Argentina victory by converting their fourth penalty! And Messi and his team were the winners of this much disputed Qatar winter World Cup after arguably the most spectacular World Cup final in history, a game for the ages that tore at the emotions and played havoc with the pulse rates before Argentina’s icon grabbed his last opportunity and reached his summit, aged 35.

*Best player and winner of the World Cup with Argentina: Lionel Messi*

The “Albiceleste” had started into this world championship with a shock 1-2 defeat to Saudi Arabia, and in the end they won an amazing final! What a journey for this team! And in the end now Messi is really one of the greatest of all times, and no one did deserve to win this World Cup more than Lionel Messi.

Clockwise: manager Lionel Scaloni celebrating with Angel Di Maria who scored the Argentine’s second goal, the fans from South America, smiling Lionel Messi who converted his penalty in the shootout, and France’s Aurelien Tchouameni who missed his spot kick.

What a game that was and what a result: History was reversed for Scaloni, and Lionel Messi could finally lift the World Cup at Lusail Stadium deservedly with Argentina!

For Messi, to be part of a triumphant World Cup team was the one feat he needed to adorn a career that has spanned 820 goals for club and country, not to mention a record seven Ballon d’Or awards. Now, the comparisons with Pelé and Maradona, both champions in national colours, feel entirely fitting. As for the endless debate comparing him to Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi’s standing as the pre-eminent star of the age is officially undisputed.