Messi's Undisputable Legacy for Argentina

Lionel Messi's career is perfected with the 2022 FIFA World Cup title lifting him to the top of the world and giving him the pinnacle of legacy as one of the best footballers in history.

AFP/KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV

Argentina's captain and forward #10 Lionel Messi (C) lifts the FIFA World Cup Trophy as he celebrate with teammates winning the Qatar 2022 World Cup final football match between Argentina and France at Lusail Stadium in Lusail, north of Doha on December 18, 2022.

LUSAIL, KOMPAS — The 2022 FIFA World Cup title is the legacy of Lionel Messi’s career for Argentina. The 39th trophy in his professional career is the most beautiful swan song to usher in his retirement from "La Albiceleste."

Messi led Argentina to topple defending champion France 4-2 on penalty shootouts after they played out to a 3-3 draw for 120 minutes in the 2022 FIFA World Cup final match on Sunday (18/12/2022) at Lusail Stadium, Lusail, Qatar. The number 10 playmaker opened Argentina's account with a penalty shot in the 23rd minute following a foul on Angel Di Maria.

It was his fourth goal from the penalty box in Qatar from five opportunities. In total, Messi ended the 2022 World Cup with seven goals.

In Argentina's second goal scored by Di Maria in the 36th minute, Messi initiated the transition of the La Albiceleste attack through a one-touch pass to Julian Alvarez on the halfway line. The ball only needed one pass before it rattled the net.

Also read:

> Lionel Messi’s Magic at Lusail

> Croatia, Morocco Craving for Remaining Legacy

However, Argentina's advantage evaporated in the second half in a matter of just one minute; France scored their first goal in the 80th minute and the second in the 81st minute, both courtesy of the young French star, Kylian Mbappe.

Messi put Argentina back in front with his seventh goal in the tournament in the 109th minute. However, Mbappe leveled it again with a hat trick with two minutes remaining in extra time to force a penalty shootout.

Thank you, Messi and Mbappe. Argentina continued to fight, French mentality continued with the belief [to catch up]. It's incredible

Argentina's goals from the penalty spot were delivered by Messi, Paulo Dybala, Leandro Paredes and Gonzalo Montiel, while France’s came from Mbappe and Randal Kolo Muani.

Alan Shearer, former England striker, was impressed by the intensity of the game. "Thank you, Messi and Mbappe. Argentina continued to fight, French mentality continued with the belief [to catch up]. It's incredible," he said.

KOMPAS/YUNIADHI AGUNG

French player Kylian Mbappe during the match in the 2022 World Cup final against Argentina at the Lusail Stadium, Qatar, Monday (19/12/2022) early morning WIB. Argentina won the 2022 World Cup after beating France on penalties 7-5 (3-3).

Since the start of this year, Messi had been sending out a signal that the 2022 World Cup would be his final performance with Argentina. He realized that at the age of 35 he would no longer perform with the same consistency and energy compared to five or 10 years ago, especially at the national team level.

Driven by his strong aspiration to contribute to the country in his last push, Messi exerted all of his magic in Qatar. He scored seven crucial goals for Argentina, which ended a 36-year wait to reach the top of the world again after its last achievement in 1986.

Messi was willing to chase opponents down to the backfield to fight for the ball, which was unusual as Messi had been very rarely involved in his team's defensive schemes.

Also read:

> Mbappe and Hakimi's Imperishable Bond of Friendship

> Fighting from the Heart

The 2022 World Cup title earned Messi the national status of being in the same pantheon with Mario Kempes (1987) and Diego Maradona (1986), two icons of Argentine football. It adds to the glittering career, already securing the U-20 World Cup, Copa America, Olympic gold trophies as well as La Liga trophies with Barcelona and the French League’s win with Paris Saint Germain.

Tens of thousands of Argentinian supporters never got tired of chanting support for Messi. "Messi! Messi! Messi!" shouts cranked up from a large section inside the stadium. They were waving Argentinian flags and posters with images of Messi’s face.

The Argentinian fans also sang ”Muchachos, Ahora Nos Volvimos a Illusionar,” a song released by an Argentine band, La Mosca Tse-Tse, in 2021. The song reverberated magnificently in Lusail for 120 minutes of the match.

Attacking initiatives

Argentina took initiative to charge forward from the start of the game. The flow of attacks employed flexibly in a 4-3-1-2 formation with Di Maria constantly being a threat from the flank, giving Argentina a two-goal lead in the first half.

Di Maria’s dazzling maneuver in the 23rd minute into the French defensive box forced opponents to tackle him, resulting in a penalty. Messi stepped forward with composure to convert the shot from the spot into a goal.

KOMPAS/YUNIADHI AGUNG

Argentine player Lionel Messi hugs Lautaro Martinez after winning the 2022 World Cup final against France at the Lusail Stadium, Qatar, Monday (19/12/2022) early morning WIB.

As reported by Kompas journalists Adi Prinantyo and Sutta Dharmasaputra from Lusail Stadium, Lusail city, the goal galvanized cheers from tens of thousands of Argentinian supporters, the majority of whom were in the northern stands of the stadium.

The attacking trio of Kylian Mbappe, Olivier Giroud and Ousmane Dembele looked to be struggling to break into the Argentine defense. France coach Didier Deschamps replaced Giroud and Dembele with Randal Kolo Muani and Marcus Thuram in the 41st minute.

In the second half, France was back on the pitch stronger to equalize the two goals within the stroke of one minute. Scoring a hat-trick in the final match, Mbappe became top scorer with eight goals. At 23 years and 363 days he became the youngest footballer to score in two World Cup finals, following his debut in the team’s success in the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

With a shootout debacle at Lusail, France failed to become the first team in the new millennium to win back-to-back World Cup titles. “Les Bleus” suffered their second defeat in four finals. The other loss was at the 2006 World Cup in Germany against Italy.

Qatari celebrations

Qatar wrapped up the World Cup final in a grand closing ceremony to coincide with Qatar's National Day on Dec. 18.

Various events in public spaces began on Sunday morning with a parade at Al Corniche in Doha. Various cultural events enlivened Katara as a parade of fighter jets rolled into the skies of Lusail.

The closing ceremony, which took place one hour before the start of the final match, presented nine singers who performed the three official songs of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. They were David and Aisha, singing "(Hayya Hayya) Better Together," Ozuna and Gims, singing "Arhbo," and a quartet of female singers comprising Nora Fatehi, Balqees, Rahma Riad and Mahal with "Light the Sky."

The 15-minute performance commenced with Qatari soloist Dana, singing Louis Armstrong's masterpiece, "What a Wonderful World." Spain's captain in the 2010 World Cup, Iker Casillas, and Bollywood actress, Deepika Padukone, carried the World Cup trophy onto the pitch.

After the handover of the winner's trophy and victory celebrations, Qatar closed the National Day and World Cup feast with a parade on Lusail Boulevard.

This article was translated by Musthofid.