Rare genius: Messi stamped his authority on Qatar 2022 in a manner only the most gifted could have.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images
On the grandest of all stages, Lionel Messi conjured up an act of magic for ages. How he won Argentina the World Cup in 2022 will remain one of the greatest stories in sport.
He scored two goals in the final against France in what many regard as the finest World Cup game of all time. That was the game in which Kylian Mbappe performed an unforgettable hat-trick. Only Messi could have made the young Frenchman look the second best on that night in Doha.
That final, which ended 3-3 after extra time and thus went into the shootout, was watched by about 1.5 billion people across the world. Those fans would have felt the match, and the World Cup, was Argentina’s when they saw Messi’s men go 2-0 up after 36 minutes. He had opened the scoring from the penalty spot and Angel Di Maria scored the second.
The Argentines had that two-goal lead late into the game, till the 80th minute. But within a space of a couple of minutes, Mbappe scored twice to force extra time. Messi, though, made it 3-2 with 12 minutes remaining. Mbappe, however, converted the penalty to pave the way for more penalties.
In the shootout, Messi and Mbappe took the first kicks for their teams, and scored, too. But, the misses from Kingsley Coman and Aurelien Tchouameni proved costly for France. It was only fitting though that Argentina triumphed.
The planet’s most beautiful player deserved to win the biggest prize in the beautiful game. It would have been a great injustice if Messi hadn’t got that opportunity to have that memorable stolen kiss on the trophy. At that time, it wasn’t sure if the living legend would be around for another World Cup.
Argentina’s Lionel Messi kisses the FIFA World Cup trophy after being presented with the Golden Ball award following victory in the FIFA World Cup final at Lusail Stadium, Qatar.
| Photo Credit:
Getty Images
He stamped his authority on that World Cup in a manner only the most gifted could have. He delivered when his team wanted. And he did it with a touch of genius. Remember how he set up that goal for Julian Alvarez in the semifinal against Croatia?
Qatar 2022 will remain forever a classic example of a rare genius at work, and under pressure.
Published – September 01, 2026 08:31 pm IST
