For Messi, and Argentina, the (Extra) Wait Is Worth It

Lionel Messi. (Photo: Twitter)

Lionel Messi had to wait and wait and wait. He had to wait until he was reaching the sunset of his glittering, glorious career. He had to wait until he had already tasted the sting of defeat in a World Cup final. He had to wait even after he seemed to have inspired Argentina’s soccer team to beat France in this year’s final Sunday, first in regulation time, then again in extra time.

He had to wait until after he scored two goals — but Kylian Mbappé of France had gotten three, becoming the first man to score a hat trick in a World Cup final in more than half a century. Regulation time ended 2-2; extra time ended, 3-3; and then there were penalties, which Argentina won, 4-2, the last twist in the most extraordinary final in this tournament’s long history.

Only then did Messi’s wait, his agony, come to an end. Only then could he finally claim the one prize that had eluded him: delivering a World Cup championship to Argentina, its third overall but first since 1986.

The 35-year-old Messi had said this would be his last World Cup.

Sunday night had teased deliverance. With only a little more than 10 minutes to play, Argentina stood on the cusp.

Argentina had not so much as quieted Mbappé as silenced him. It had gone ahead, 1-0, in the 23rd minute. Argentina flexed its muscle in the 36th minute with one of the most sumptuous goals the World Cup final has seen.

For all that time, the 2-0 lead looked like smooth sailing, but in the space of two minutes late in the second half, France wiped out Argentina’s advantage.

Argentina could do nothing but hang on for extra time. Messi roused himself again, driving the ball home in the 108th minute after goalkeeper Hugo Lloris made a save on Lautaro Martínez.

Once more, Mbappé would not be denied. His shot struck the outstretched arm of Argentina’s Gonzalo Montiel. Mbappé drilled home the penalty.

No matter how teams try to manipulate the order, penalty shootouts are, invariably, a place for unlikely heroes and unfortunate villains. Kingsley Coman and Aurélien Tchouaméni missed for France, leaving Montiel, an unheralded right back, standing with his country, and Messi’s legacy, on his shoulders.

The noise that Argentina’s fans emitted when the ball struck the net seemed to pierce the sky. Messi’s wait, at last, was over.