The night of Sunday, December 18, 2022, will never be forgotten by football lovers across the entire world. One of the most exciting matches in the history of the FIFA World Cup was witnessed at the Lusail stadium in Qatar by an audience of 88,966 people and millions of other fans throughout the world on their television sets. The battle between Argentina and France was a nail biting tussle which saw many records tumble in a heap as the two top teams fought it out to the finish.
It was the first time in history that six goals were shared equally at the end of the full playing time of a final match and then the issue had to be decided by a shootout. It was the first time that a player (Kylian Mbappe of France) scored a hat-trick but still ended up on the losing side. And it was the first time that Lionel Messi, one of the greatest players of the game, won the coveted World Cup which was the only trophy missing from his huge collection of trophies.
Here it would be pertinent to mention that Siasat.com had written in an earlier article (published on October 26th, 2022), that Messi had a better chance of winning the World Cup than Cristiano Ronaldo. That prediction turned out to be absolutely correct as Lionel Messi triumphantly lifted the golden coloured trophy at the end of a hard fought battle. On the other hand, Ronaldo had a tournament that he would probably prefer to forget.
After a reported disagreement with his coach Fernando Santos, Ronaldo was benched and brought on for two games as a substitute. This may have hurt the star’s image and ego. Despite a big 6-1 win over Switzerland (in which Ronaldo’s replacement scored three goals), Portugal’s losses to Korea and rampaging Morocco dashed the team’s hopes and Ronaldo bowed out without a bang.
But Messi went from strength to strength. He proved the truth that lies in the saying “persistence pays.” After a shock defeat at the hands of Saudi Arabia, Messi produced one of the greatest performances in World Cup history which took his team to glory. It was as if the Almighty had at last recognised the hard work and dedication of this small built man from Argentina and showered him with blessings.
Messi became the most loved footballer
From the day the tournament began, Messi was everyone’s sentimental favourite. Millions of his fans all over the planet prayed for him and hoped that he would win the trophy. In India football lovers in Kolkata, Kerala and Manipur placed huge cut outs on street corners. In Kolkata a woman selling tea decided to provide her beverage free to all customers for the entire day to seek their good wishes on behalf of Argentina.
Many experts felt that the final on Sunday was the best that they had seen. The battle saw superstars Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe going head to head. There were dramatic comeback goals. Finally a nerve-wracking penalty shootout. Social media went into meltdown and those who witnessed the encounter were lucky to see a mouth-watering display of skills, stamina and mental determination.
Former England football star Alan Shearer told BBC: “We were all breathless. It was an unbelievable final. I’ve never seen anything like it and I don’t think I’ll ever see anything like it again.” From the USA, tennis legend Serena Williams tweeted: “OK, if I have a heart attack, it’s cause I am watching this #FifaWorldCup.”
Messi is a shy person. He hardly speaks. But long ago he had told a reporter: “You can overcome anything. But for that you must have unbounded love for the goal that you want to achieve.” On Sunday night he proved that his love for his country and for the game was as boundless and vast as the pampas (open grasslands) which cover lakhs of square kilometres of Argentina. Truly, the full extent of “Messi Magic” was on display and the world watched the show with awestruck wonder.
Argentina’s matches:
Lost to Saudi Arabia 1-2. Beat Mexico 2-0. Beat Poland 2-0. Round of 16: Beat Australia 2-1. Quarter final: Beat Netherlands 4-3 via penalties after 2-2 in the match. Semi final: Beat Croatia 3-0. Final: Beat France 4-2 via penalties after 3-3 in the match.
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