“Winning the World Cup is every player’s dream,” Messi said after Argentina won the gold cup on December 18 evening. “I consider myself fortunate to have won everything because the World Cup has arrived.”
In his career, Messi has won 39 trophies in every tournament he has competed in, including La Liga, Ligue 1, Champions League, Copa America, and now the World Cup. Not to mention the 2005 U20 World Championship and the 2008 Olympic gold medal in men’s football.
The Argentine captain also stated that he had a premonition that God would bestow the championship upon him. “I had a feeling Argentina would win this way,” he added. “The game was crazy, but Argentina came out on top. What else can be said about this game? Football is a crazy sport. “I’d like to dedicate this championship to the people of Argentina.”
Highlight: Argentina vs France in the World Cup 2022 final
Messi is also the first player in World Cup history to score in the group stage and every knockout match, with an 11-meter kick in the 23rd minute.
Previously, he averaged one goal per game against Australia in the round of 16, the Netherlands in the quarter-finals, and Croatia in the semi-finals. Messi “released bullets” into the nets of Saudi Arabia and Mexico in the first two rounds of the group stage. The only game he did not score in this tournament was the 2-0 win over Poland in the final round of the group stage.
Messi scored the game-winning penalty and set up Angel di Maria’s 2-0 goal in the 2022 World Cup final. In the first 60 minutes, France didn’t finish a single shot, but Kylian Mbappe shone with a strike. double to tie the game at 2-2 and force extra time. Argentina went ahead again thanks to Messi, but Mbappe tied the game 3-3 in extra time. Argentina eventually defeated France 4-2 on penalties. FIFA’s Twitter account commented it was “the best final in history”.
Messi also ruled out retiring from international football at the end of this tournament. “Of course, I want to end my career this way because nothing beats winning the World Cup,” he explained. “However, as world champion, I still want to play more games.”
Argentina’s next major tournament is the Summer Copa America in 2024, but they may be invited to the Summer Gold Cup in 2023. Lionel Scaloni’s men are scheduled to play a friendly against an unknown opponent in March 2022.
Messi played in 25 World Cups, scoring 13 goals and assisting on eight others. He is the only player to have won the World Cup Golden Ball for best male player twice, in 2014 and 2022.
The most recent sublimation World Cup
There is a strong case to be made that he does not need to win the World Cup to be considered the greatest. International football is notoriously volatile.
What if France wins on penalties?
What if Pelé was born in Estonia and never won a national team title? Does that make him less of a player?
Some of football’s most famous names, such as Alfredo Di Stéfano, Johan Cruyff, and George Best, have never achieved national team success.
Messi’s consistent brilliance has outperformed all of them year after year.
“Messi is like Maradona every day,” said respected Argentine sports journalist Juan Pablo Varsky.
As the “white knight,” Messi
Argentinians no longer questioned his commitment to the cause; rather, they rallied behind him in his quest to bring home the country’s first international trophy in decades.
Argentina defeated Brazil in the Copa America final of 2021 in the most difficult of circumstances.
With Lionel Scaloni as a coach, the club had finally figured out how to support Messi rather than relying on him to carry the load for the rest of the team.
Messi finally appeared to be content while representing Argentina, and he also appeared to be the inspirational figure that the country had hoped for.
As the group grew around him, he felt at ease serving as the team’s talisman. And Argentinians adore talismans and messiahs.
The allure of the “white knight” who will lead people to greatness has long been appealing in Argentina, dating back to the days of caudillos, feudal strongmen who ruled over provinces, as well as charismatic cult figures such as Juan Perón and even Maradona.
And, at this point, Messi has fully embraced the position after maturing into it throughout the World Cup.
