A football match termed as the ‘Greatest World Cup Final’ after Lionel Messi and the Argentinian team beat France to become World Champions.
Argentina and France put up a heart-throbbing spectacle, pausing the entire world to an exciting conclusion to the Qatar World Cup. Argentina emerged as Victors. France suffered defeat, yet displayed exceptional team-spirit and attitude.
Table of contents
- The Greatest World Cup Final
- A Dream Come True
- Messi Awarded the Golden Ball
- A Worthy Opponent
- Records and Benchmarks
The Greatest World Cup Final
For all those who observed the immense battle between Argentina and France, have survived to witness one of the grandest game of football which was ever played. For those who did not, they missed an impressive spectacle in today’s world.
Initially, Argentina dominated, keeping their French counterparts frustrated. However, France, being a previous world champion, would not give up easily. They bounced back in the eightieth minute with Kylian Mbappe, scoring 2 goals in 97 seconds. Levelling the scores, and putting up a fresh fight, they pushed the game into extra time.
The audience stood amazed and throbbing in theirs seats. Every touch and every pass from then on created an air of excitement. Messi, being a dominant force, took the lead back again. Mbappe was not having it that way. He calmly converted a penalty awarded to him, levelling the scores again. He pushed the conclusion to penalties.
The Kingsmen of both teams hit the bull’s eye, scoring again. However, the twist began when Emilio Martinez, winner of the golden glove, made a save putting pressure on France. At the end, Argentina emerged victorious, crushing the French hearts and fans.
A Dream Come True
For Messi, it was a dream turning into reality. As a player he always wanted to win the World Cup for his country. The joy and happiness were visible on his face once the game was over. By winning the World Cup, Messi has won every major tournament that a player could win in the realm of football.
For several fans of Messi, especially the Argentinian population, their dream came true as well. Watching their favorite player in action and winning is the greatest pleasure for a fan. The world went crazy with Argentina and Messi.
Messi Awarded the Golden Ball
They honored Lionel Messi with the Golden Ball, a recognition for the best player in the FIFA World Cup tournament. Undoubtedly, he proved himself the best on and off the field.
Messi broke some of the most amazing records of the World Cup tournament. He became the youngest and the oldest player who has scored and assisted in the same world cup. At 18 he did it for the youngest, and at 35 he has now done as the oldest. Also, Messi is the player to have most appearances in the World cup, which is 26 times.
Messi is the only player who has won the prestigious Golden Ball award for 2 times. He is also the player to hold the record for most minutes played and most wins in a world cup.
Apart from the records, Lionel Messi has been an exceptional player for his team and club. A positive news which emerged after the win was that he plans to continue his international reign as the World champion. Earlier, he had reported of retiring.
A Worthy Opponent
Previous World Cup champions, France proved themselves in the finals. Though they could not win, yet they displayed class and spirit, worthy of champions.
Kylian Mbappe, like his reputation, did shock the world. He became the second player to score a hat-trick in a world cup final. With his hat-trick, he kept the French dream alive, taking it to the penalties. However, football is an uncertain sport, the tables can turn anytime, and it did.
France won hearts, though they lost the title.
Records and Benchmarks
The Qatar World cup was a benchmark. Some things interestingly made a few records.
In the history of the World cup, female referees officiated matches for the first time.
It was the first World cup hosted by a middle-eastern nation which is Qatar. Qatar became the first team in history to be defeated in their first match. Also, they became the first World cup hosting nation to lose all their matches.
