Lionel Messi yesterday set off for Argentina after leading his team to World Cup glory on Sunday, scoring twice against France in one of the all-time great finals with the South Americans holding their nerve to triumph in a penalty shoot-out.
Messi finally crowned his record-breaking career by claiming soccer’s biggest prize with a performance that would go down in World Cup history, scoring a first-half penalty and netting again in extra-time.
France had fought back from 2-0 down in the last 10 minutes as Kylian Mbappe scored twice to equalize and force extra-time in a pulsating match watched by a crowd of 89,000 in Lusail Stadium.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Messi seemed to have decided the match in extra-time with his second goal of the game before his Paris Saint-Germain teammate Mbappe completed only the second World Cup final hat-trick to bring the score to 3-3 and force penalties.
Gonzalo Montiel swept home the decisive spot-kick to win the shoot-out 4-2 for Argentina — but this was Messi’s moment.
He had tasted bitter defeat in the 2014 final against Germany, but in his fifth and final World Cup, the 35-year-old finally emulated Argentina idol Diego Maradona by leading his nation to World Cup glory. It was Argentina’s first win since Maradona’s victory in Mexico City in 1986.
Photo: AFP
Tens of thousands of blue and white-shirted Argentina fans rose to salute Messi as he told them “we’re champions of the world” on the stadium microphone.
“Obviously I wanted to finish my career with this. I can’t ask for any more,” he later told Argentine television. “My career is coming to end because these are my final years. What more could there be after this?”
He said he would continue with the Argentina squad.
Photo: AFP
“I want to keep experiencing a few more matches as world champion,” he added.
There was an explosion of joy in Argentina, where millions of fans flooded the streets, singing and dancing in celebration.
An estimated 2 million people converged around the famed Obelisk in Buenos Aires as the party raged long into the night. Many of them were eager to welcome their heroes home.
“Of course, it’s what we’re all waiting for,” teacher Veronica Silva, 44, said from the Plaza de Mayo square. “This will continue for a couple of days. It started now and it won’t end tomorrow because they arrive tomorrow: It will go on for longer.”
“Of course we can’t wait to see the players, all of them,” cleaner Rosa Rodriguez, 63, added. “It’s a good team who did us proud. The biggest celebration will be when they arrive.”
FIFA would be delighted with a pulsating final that capped one of the most controversial World Cups in history, with the Qatari organizers having to face persistent questions about the country’s treatment of migrant workers and its laws on homosexuality.
Neutrals would be happy that Messi has finally won a World Cup.
However, with his hat-trick — and the Golden Boot for top scorer at the tournament with eight goals — Mbappe surely showed he is ready to inherit the mantle of the world’s best player.
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