Even after two years, the picture of Lionel Messi hoisting the Argentina World Cup trophy on this day in 2022 still seems to have happened yesterday. The image of Messi with the World Cup in Qatar may be the final one we see of him at this point, as the Argentine superstar stated that he was still hesitant about playing in the 2026 tournament in the US, Mexico, and Canada.
When Messi’s Argentina and a tenacious France team captained by an irrepressible Kylian Mbappe squared off in football’s biggest match at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar on December 18, 2022, the story was written.
Once the dust had settled, Argentina had won their third World Cup when La Selección overcame France 4-2 on penalties, with goalie Emiliano Martinez saving vital penalty kicks and Messi finally battling the demons of the 2014 World Cup final.
Messi and Mbappe both scored in Extra Time, the former in the 108th minute and the latter in the 118th, as France pulled off another comeback to draw the game 3-3 as it went to penalties in what was hailed the greatest World Cup final ever. The Les Blues held Argentina 2-2 at the end of ordinary time thanks to two goals from Mbappe, one from open play and one from a penalty. Messi and Angel Di Maria had given Argentina the lead prior to Mbappe’s masterclass in the second half.
In addition to finishing the competition with 13 goals in FIFA World Cups, Messi was the first player to score in both the group stage and each round of the knockout stage in the same tournament.
