Lionel Messi finally wins World Cup title as Argentina beats France in thriller

Lionel Messi went to the crowd.

He waved to the supporters in blue and white, smiling like a child before the Argentine staff and his teammates came over to hug him, tears in their eyes.

It was never going to be easy. But it’s hard to imagine a more epic fashion for Messi to win his first World Cup.

Gonzalo Montiel had the ultimate piece of redemption, hitting the winning penalty into the bottom left corner after giving away a penalty at the end of extra time to allow France to tie the game. Immediately, Montiel covered his eyes with his shirt, in tears.

So were most of his teammates.

Argentina are atop the world again, World Cup champions for the first time since 1986, defeating the defending champion France 4-3 in a coronation that became a classic. And just like in Mexico City, this tournament will go down in history for an all-time player stating his case to be the best ever.

Even before then, Messi delivered with an extra-time goal that seemed to have put the trophy back in Argentina’s hands. The ball came off Hugo Lloris, who had saved Lautaro Martínez’s initial shot, and Messi, on his right leg, whacked it into the net.

For a moment, there was a question as to whether it had crossed the line. Then there was a question as to whether Martínez was offside. When the goal was agonizingly confirmed, Argentina given a 3-2 lead after a stunning collapse sent the game to extra time, Messi smiled like a little kid.

Kylian Mbappé, though, would soon match him. Gonzalo Montiel’s handball in the box gave Mbappé another penalty kick with two minutes left before penalties. There was no question he would finish the hat trick, and in short order, he did.

The end to extra time was completely frenetic, end-to-end, desperate on every level. But neither team could score and in penalties, France finally succumbed, with Emiliano Martinez getting a hand to Kingsley Coman’s attempt and Aurélien Tchouaméni missing wide left. Argentina were flawless, a perfect four-for-four.

For 16 years with Argentina’s national team, Messi has fallen short again and again and again. He was reduced to living in the shadow of Diego Maradona, even as Maradona himself only got Messi as far as the quarterfinals in South Africa 2010. He suffered what looked like personal traumas at the Maracanã in the 2014 final, and in the 2016 Copa America final against Chile, briefly retiring from the national team after the latter.

It didn’t take long for him to change his mind, though, announcing in a statement: “I seriously thought of leaving. But I love this country and this shirt too much.” And last summer, the weight of not having won a trophy with the national team was finally lifted as Argentina beat Brazil at — where else — the Maracanã. Eighteen months later, Messi played at this World Cup with a certain freedom that he never had in a blue and white shirt. He implored a nation to stay calm after a shock opening loss to Saudi Arabia, and it listened.

And after suffering what was nearly one of the most stunning collapses in the history of the sport, Argentina again stayed calm. La Albiceleste found their game again in extra time, calming themselves down after a wild end to regulation and righting the ship.

After dominating the game’s first 80 minutes, Nicolás Otamendi opened the door for France, bringing down Randal Kolo Munai in the box. Kylian Mbappé, given the opportunity, was not going to go quietly.

Mbappé thumped a penalty into the left corner, beating Emiliano Martinez there to cut Argentina’s lead to 2-1. Just a minute later, Lusail Stadium came alive as Mbappé scored again, volleying a ball from Marcus Thuram into the goal and stunning the Argentinian cohort into silence.

But the silence would not last long, and the Argentinian shouting pressed on into the Doha night, with Messi at the center of it, emotions pouring out of him.

For 80 minutes, this looked like it would be easy for Argentina, until Otamendi’s fateful moment in the box changed everything. But even that wasn’t enough in the end.

The result is a South American World Cup champion for the first time since 2002. And, for the first time, Mbappé will start to face the sort of questions that dogged Messi for so many years.

All those questions are over and done with now. There is nothing left to ask. Messi had already done it all at a club level, and now he has equaled Maradona’s World Cup achievements.

Not just by winning, but by making Qatar 2022 his own.