Lionel Messi has reiterated that Sunday’s FIFA World Cup final would be his last. He had said this before the start of the World Cup, in an unsurprising declaration considering that the 35-year-old is getting closer to an age when footballers either move to obscure leagues or start coaching or switch to punditry from a television studio.
Sunday would not just be his last World Cup game. It would be his last chance of getting his hands on the World Cup, a trophy he came close to in 2014 when Argentina made it to the final only to lose to Germany. He is playing his fifth World Cup in Qatar, one of only six players to have competed in so many World Cups and on December 18, he would beat German Lothar Matthaus’ record of most number — 25 — of World Cup matches. Messi has further records to aspire to in the final, with his current 11 World Cup goals ranking joint-sixth on the all-time list behind Pele (12), among others.
Late Tuesday — or Wednesday — night’s semi-final match against Croatia was a reminder of not the inevitability of his career but contrarily, the reason why it could go on. While the best moment of brilliance was reserved for young Julián Álvarez, who had one of those Diego Maradona-like charging runs that had defenders tumbling in his wake to score Argentina’s second goal, Messi was not to be denied his place on the pedestal.
He got Argentina’s first goal, through a penalty, but the defining move was yet to come. In the 69th minute, Messi cut loose on the right, then darted in, leaving one of the tournament’s better defenders, Joško Gvardiol, befuddled. He then found the space to roll the ball over for Alvarez to score his second and the team’s commanding third goal of the semi-final.
The World Cup is the only major trophy missing from Messi’s cabinet, having won the world’s best player’s prize Ballon d’Or seven times, four Champions Leagues, and finally, the Copa America title for Argentina last year. The World Cup would seal his claim to be considered among the greatest of all time, a sobriquet that the late Maradona could easily contend for, having won the World Cup in 1986 (and taking the team to the final in 1990).
“I am very happy for finishing my journey in World Cups in a final, to play the last game in a final. That is really very gratifying,” Messi said after the semi-final. “Everything I lived in this World Cup has been emotional, seeing how much it has been enjoyed in Argentina.”
To add to the World Cup, if Argentina were to win it, would be the Golden Boot awarded to the tournament’s highest scorer, for which Messi is tied with France’s Kylian Mbappe. The penalty Messi converted against Croatia was his third of the tournament and fifth goal overall, going ahead of Gabriel Batistuta as Argentina’s top goal scorer at World Cups.
The final on Sunday, against France, sets up two of the tournament’s most influential players and Paris Saint-Germain teammates Messi and Mbappe. While the Frenchman has been spectacular to watch, with his blinding speed and forceful presence, the older Messi has been more conservative, playing at an easy pace and resorting to sudden bursts of attack during viable opportunities.
A Golden Boot would be a deserving prize for Messi who, unlike Maradona in 1986, has been accused in the past of not being able to motivate an average team to a title through the sheer strength of his own personality, skill and ability to inspire — like Maradona did in '86.
Before the start of the World Cup, most UK betting firms had Brazil, France, Spain and England as favourites, with some including the Messi-led Argentina as well. After Saudi Arabia shockingly beat Argentina in their first group match on 22 November, the odds stacked up even higher against the South Americans. But with wins over Mexico (2-0), and Poland (2-0), Argentina qualified for the round of 16, beating Australia (2-1) first and then the Netherlands (3-2) sensationally on penalties to get into the semis.
For Messi to do (nearing the end of his career) what Maradona did (at the peak of his) would be his best possible response to detractors. For years, Messi, like any other talented player from Argentina, has suffered comparisons to Maradona, a victim to fans’ inevitable search for a worthy successor. More so because Messi, a seemingly nervous, mild-mannered footballer, lacked the swagger, notoriety of Maradona whose claim to fame in World Cups was triggered by the famous “Hand of God” first goal against England in the ’86 quarter-finals. It was further sealed by his second goal in the game, which some like to call "The Goal of the Century", in which he swam past a host of seemingly frozen English defenders to net the ball home.
Messi showed glimpses of similar skill and audacity in that third goal against Croatia that he assisted, with a magnetic control over the ball, balance, speed and presence of mind. If he is able to recreate some of the ball skills that made him famous at Barcelona, France would be in trouble in the final.
While comparisons across generations are subjective and Messi’s legacy — along with Cristiano Ronaldo’s — as part of the game’s great players is certain, a World Cup title would sure be a good way to end his international career. If the semi-final was an indication, the final may yet produce one — or more — nuggets of Messi magic.
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