Against the odds, Qatar pulled off one of the greatest FIFA World Cup tournaments the world has ever seen. Sixty-four matches were played, 32 nations competed over 29 days but there could only be one winner – Argentina.
It was just the fairy tale ending one of the icons of the modern-day game dreamt of and perhaps it was written in the stars a million miles away in the Doha night sky last Sunday.
Sixteen years after Lionel Messi stepped onto the World Cup stage for the first time as a fresh-faced 18-year-old, he finally captured the one accomplishment that evaded him through a glittering football career. His dream came through, he won his first World Cup and Argentina’s third since the tournament started in 1930, in the most thrilling and dramatic fashion.
The 35-year-old Messi vanished the memories of disappointment and despair from the 2014 World Cup final which he lost agonisingly by producing a master class to help his beloved Argentina lift the trophy after defeating former champions France 4-2 on penalties.
It proved to be the Messi and Kylian Mbappe show, two club teammates battling out over 120 minutes for the football’s biggest prize.
Imagine scoring a hattrick in the World Cup final, becoming only the
second footballer to ever do it and still ending up on the losing side.
This is the story of Mbappe, the 23-year-old superstar who won the golden boot award for the most goals, eight to be exact, at the tournament.
Argentina’s campaign got off to a messy start. They lost their opening match to Saudi Arabia 2-1, their only defeat as the South Americans won six consecutive games in a remarkable turnaround. Mexico, Poland, Australia, Netherlands, Croatia and France all fell victim to an Argentina team driven and inspired by the emotions attached to Messi’s triumph.
The Argentines appeared to be strolling towards helping Messi to secure the one major trophy missing from his cabinet in comfort as they took a 2-0 lead into the half-time interval. The match reports were being written, headlines attached before Mbappe almost upstaged the biggest night of Messi’s career.
He scored twice in 90 seconds to turn the match on its head. Messi, the golden ball winner for the player of the tournament then thought he had won it just after the first half of extra time was completed before Mbappe responded yet again with the goal to send the game into penalties where Messi and Argentina’s dream became a sweet reality. It was the most fitting end to the greatest show on earth.
This World Cup ended the debate surrounding who is the greater player between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal. Often compared to Brazilian legend Pele and his late countryman and icon Diego Maradonna, Messi’s name now rightfully belongs in the discussion about who is the greatest of them all.
Pele has won the World Cup three times, Maradonna and Messi once. Ronaldo is no longer categorise with the big three of the game.
Mbappe if he continues to shine in this same light, will most definitely become a legend of football.
Before a ball was kicked in Qatar, France was one of the favourites but down the pecking order due to the injury bug which hit the defending champions. Paul Pogba, Kante and Karim Benzema were all ruled out of the World Cup leaving many to fear that the French men would struggle and continue the curse of holders being eliminated in the group stage of the following tournament. This wasn’t to be, Mbappe, carried his nation on his back.
Australia and Denmark were beaten in the group stage as France was the first nation to qualify for the knockout round. Only Tunisia defeated them up until the final with Poland, England and wonder boys Morocco, all statistics on their path to the final.
Tremendous credit must be given to Morocco for creating history by becoming the first African nation to reach the semi-final of the FIFA World Cup. They were giant killers, beating Belgium in the first round, shocking Spain in the round of 16 and upsetting Portugal and ending Ronaldo’s dream of winning the most coveted trophy the sport has to offer.
However, France were a hurdle too many for Morocco, though they played impressive, the France players displayed the experience required to reach the World Cup final with a 2-0 victory. Nevertheless, Morocco is the nation that won the hearts of numerous football fans with courteous displays.
The tournament started with several upset results, Japan defeated Germany; what a shock! Belgium, led by Kevin De Bryne failed to qualify for the knockout phase, Spain, 2010 champions crumbled in the round of 16.
England, as expected, went home in the quarter-finals but it was a very encouraging run for Gareth Southgate’s youthful team which could have reached the last eight rounds if circumstances were different in their encounter against France.
Brazil were the pre-tournament favourites and seemed on course to capturing the title for a record sixth time after an attractive samba-style start. They cruised through the group stage, round of 16 but were sent crashing out of the tournament by a stubborn Croatia side, runners-up from 2018. Kudos to Croatia and midfielder Luka Modric for securing the third-place trophy.
Overall, the most controversial edition of the world’s biggest football event held in a Muslim country for the first time ever was a major success. Adversity surrounding the treatment of LGBT citizens and migrant workers, some of whom were killed in the construction of World Cup stadiums 12 months ago, had little impact on the quality of football.
In the end, football won. Prior to the tournament, FIFA president Gianni Infantino made an unorthodox speech in which he sought to defend Qatar and advocate for a great tournament from November 20 to December 18. He even said it would be the greatest World Cup the world has ever seen and it lived up to all the expectations.
