Even though FIFA’s decision to entrust Qatar with the organization and hosting of a World Cup was met with harsh criticism from fans, football officials and even some players, looking back on it from a footballing perspective, it was all but disappointing. As every World Cup, it was filled with exciting moments, plays that will stick in the memories of the fans for a long time, big upsets and turnarounds for the ages.
It gave us the first African team to reach the semifinal after Morocco beat Belgium, Spain and Portugal en route to the semifinal only to fall short against France who, led by Kylian Mbappé, reached their second consecutive final. Across them stood Argentina and Lionel Messi in their second final in three editions.
Both teams had some slip-ups during the tournament, especially Argentina who lost their opening match to Saudi Arabia in what was probably the biggest upset in World Cup history. After that, however, both teams looked formidable and deserved their place in the final by breaking down everyone who stood on their path. What ensued was a thriller worthy of the greatest Hollywood scripts, a rollercoaster ride that had more than a billion people over the world not on the edge of their seat, but standing in front of the TV waiting for the next twist. And there were plenty of them.
Scaloni’s surprise move dictates early proceedings
Argentina’s line-up ahead of the final featured a tactical surprise that proved to be very effective – Ángel Di María, who hadn’t started a single knockout match in the tournament, started against France. That fact in itself might not be such ha surprise, had Di María not been deployed on the left wing, rather then on the right side where he spent almost all of his playing career.
And it was exactly Ángel Di María who determined the early course of the match. He entered the box on the left side of the pitch an got caught by Ousmane Dembélé, causing the referee Syzmon Marciniak to point to the penalty spot. Messi converted the penalty to give Argentina the lead, and it was Di María who doubled it 13 minutes later with a brilliant, flowing counter-attack.
After 64 minutes and his mission all but complete, Di María was subbed of for left-back Marcos Acuna as Argentina were looking like they’ll be able to cruise to the victory.
Mbappé’s One Minute Madness
For almost 70 minutes, you could say France didn’t show up for the final and you wouldn’t be far off. Their first shot of the entire match came after a corner in the 68th minute. But, you simply don’t write off the reigning world champions and Kylian Mbappé. Within a blink of an eye, minutes 80 and 81, two flashes of genius and France pulled level. But the drama was far from over. It came down to extra-time and a final face-off between club teammates that never really got along well, a face-off between the king of football and the hungry, young lion eyeing his throne. And they both had a lot to say.
The save of the century
Argentina managed to pull themselves together for yet another time in the tournament, after suffering a similar shock in the quarterfinal match against The Netherlands. They started the extra-time on the front foot, got more of the action and finally took the lead again in the 108th minute thanks to Lionel Messi making most of a crowded situation in the 6-yard box and scraping a rebound. Glory never appeared so close. But, we were far from done with the twists for the evening. In the 116th minute, after a French corner, Montiel appeared to handball and Szymon Marciniak did not hesitate to point to the spot. Mbappé was too cool to miss and became only the second player after Geoff Hurst in 1966 to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final. Adding his effort from 2018 against Croatia, the Frenchmen took his career World Cup final goals to 4.
Then, in the 123rd minute of the game, time stood still. A long ball was misjudged by Argentina’s defence and it was falling straight into Randal Kolo Muani’s path. With only Emiliano Martínez standing between him and eternal glory, Kolo Muani struck the ball has hard as he could. Left with not much to do, Dibu Martínez rushed of his line and threw himself onto Muani’s path, making himself as wide as possible in the process. The ball hit his left shin and bounced clear. From a game that seemed to be in their pocket, Argentina needed last minute heroics to stay alive and take it to penalties.
In the shootout, Dibu Martínez stepped up again, saving Kingsley Coman’s shot. After Tchouaméni missed the target in France’s third attempt, Argentina had it all in their hands. Gonzalo Montiel had the weight of expectations of an entire country, perhaps heavier than any other, on his shoulders, but managed to seal the deal and give Argentina their third title, and give the ultimate reward to a player that sought it for more than a decade.
Messi’s tournament
The player, of course, is Lionel Messi. A man whose career needs no introduction, a man who has truly seen it all and won it all. All but the thing he desired the most. Having fallen at the final hurdle in 2014, Messi must have surely thought that his chance for World Cup glory was gone for good. No matter how good and great you are, as a footballer you can count yourself lucky if you even get a shot at the World Cup title, let alone winning it. But years have passed and a new generation of players arrived, lots of them merely teenagers when their hero fell short to Germany at the iconic Maracana stadium. Now, this pack of hungry wolves was determined to deliver the ultimate redeption for the man who deserved it more than any other.
Their leader, however, did not let them do all the work. Instead, he led by example. With 6 goals and 3 assists in 7 games, he carried everything on his shoulders yet again, never stumbling under the weight of it all, never looking like giving up. Man of the match in 5 of the 7 games including the final, Lionel Messi took care of everything in Qatar, making it the second time in his career that he’s crowned as the best player at a World Cup. A lifetime’s work of art completed by the last final stroke of an eternal genius. For Messi and most of his fans alike, life itself was changed forever that night. Nothing seemed so big or important anymore. Nothing seemed impossible. Football had, yet again, proved itself to be very just.
