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.

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.

Spain are world champions once again after a dominant FIFA World Cup campaign, defeating Argentina 1-0 in the final. But beyond the result, the tournament has sparked fierce debate over contrasting footballing philosophies, refereeing decisions and the narratives that shaped the competition.

FIFA final: Spain’s absolute domination over Argentina explained

In this episode of In Focus, we unpack Spain’s rise under Luis de la Fuente, how their possession-based game has evolved since 2010, and why they emerged as the tournament’s standout team. We also examine Argentina’s gritty run to the final, the criticism of its physical approach, and whether allegations of favourable refereeing and FIFA bias stand up to scrutiny.

Guest: Sandeep Menon, journalist and author

Host: Reuben Joe Joseph

Edited and produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian

Listen to more In Focus podcasts:

For 120 minutes, Spain did what no other team at this World Cup had managed.

It found a way to keep Lionel Messi quiet.

The plan was simple in theory but brutally difficult in practice. Every time the 39-year-old drifted towards the right flank, another red shirt arrived. His every passing lane closed and every familiar slalom towards his left foot was met by bodies rather than space.

“The first idea was to keep Messi at bay,” Spain coach Luis de la Fuente admitted afterwards. He had learned his lesson when a 16-year-old Messi had terrorised his Sevilla team in an under-19 match in 2004.

But here, rather than man-marking the Argentine talisman, the Spanish coach looked at cutting the supply and isolating Messi. The Argentine captain managed only 15 touches in the first half and 54 across the entire final. There was no trademark curling finish, no defence-splitting pass, no decisive intervention.

The overwhelming majority of the 80,663 spectators had come hoping to witness another coronation. They wanted to see the man who had already given them one of football’s greatest endings add one final chapter by lifting a second World Cup.

Instead, the faithful watched him leave in tears.

It was here in MetLife in 2016, when Messi had missed in the Copa America final shootout against Chile and announced his international retirement before making a comeback 47 days later to complete his redemption arc.

Ten years later, he returned to the same stadium seeking one final crown, only for it to deny him again.

As Spain celebrated at the centre circle, Messi and his teammates walked towards the Argentina supporters gathered behind the southern goal. The applause that greeted them was as loud as anything heard all evening. Spain’s players, too, understood the moment.

Several, including Lamine Yamal, crossed the pitch to embrace Messi after the final whistle. Later, as Argentina climbed the podium to collect its runner-up medals, the new world champion formed a guard of honour. A few patted him on the back, Messi tried to smile, but the disappointment was hard to contain.

One match, however, cannot rewrite a career.

Messi leaves the World Cup as its most enduring presence with 34 appearances, 23 victories, 21 goals, 27 matches as captain, seven goals from outside the penalty area, 10 knockout-stage assists and, above all, the man who finally completed football’s greatest story by lifting the trophy in 2022. He remains the only player to score in every knockout round of a World Cup-winning campaign.

Spain may have denied him one final triumph, but no one can take away the imprint he has left on this tournament.

For generations to come, the World Cup’s story will be retold through many champions, but few names will echo as deeply as that of Lionel Messi’s.

For 120 minutes, Spain did what no other team at this World Cup had managed.

It found a way to keep Lionel Messi quiet.

The plan was simple in theory but brutally difficult in practice. Every time the 39-year-old drifted towards the right flank, another red shirt arrived. His every passing lane closed and every familiar slalom towards his left foot was met by bodies rather than space.

“The first idea was to keep Messi at bay,” Spain coach Luis de la Fuente admitted afterwards. He had learned his lesson when a 16-year-old Messi had terrorised his Sevilla team in an under-19 match in 2004.

But here, rather than man-marking the Argentine talisman, the Spanish coach looked at cutting the supply and isolating Messi. The Argentine captain managed only 15 touches in the first half and 54 across the entire final. There was no trademark curling finish, no defence-splitting pass, no decisive intervention.

The overwhelming majority of the 80,663 spectators had come hoping to witness another coronation. They wanted to see the man who had already given them one of football’s greatest endings add one final chapter by lifting a second World Cup.

Instead, the faithful watched him leave in tears.

It was here in MetLife in 2016, when Messi had missed in the Copa America final shootout against Chile and announced his international retirement before making a comeback 47 days later to complete his redemption arc.

Ten years later, he returned to the same stadium seeking one final crown, only for it to deny him again.

As Spain celebrated at the centre circle, Messi and his teammates walked towards the Argentina supporters gathered behind the southern goal. The applause that greeted them was as loud as anything heard all evening. Spain’s players, too, understood the moment.

Several, including Lamine Yamal, crossed the pitch to embrace Messi after the final whistle. Later, as Argentina climbed the podium to collect its runner-up medals, the new world champion formed a guard of honour. A few patted him on the back, Messi tried to smile, but the disappointment was hard to contain.

One match, however, cannot rewrite a career.

Messi leaves the World Cup as its most enduring presence with 34 appearances, 23 victories, 21 goals, 27 matches as captain, seven goals from outside the penalty area, 10 knockout-stage assists and, above all, the man who finally completed football’s greatest story by lifting the trophy in 2022. He remains the only player to score in every knockout round of a World Cup-winning campaign.

Spain may have denied him one final triumph, but no one can take away the imprint he has left on this tournament.

For generations to come, the World Cup’s story will be retold through many champions, but few names will echo as deeply as that of Lionel Messi’s.

Egypt coach Hossam Hassan emerged from one of the World Cup’s wildest games furious with the refereeing, convinced his side had been denied a famous result and openly suggesting that the defending champion had been carried by favourable treatment.

Egypt, he said, had gone toe-to-toe with the world champion despite being assembled from far humbler means.

“We were challenging the most expensive players, and we were better in everything than the defending champion,” Hassan said, before accusing Argentina of needing “pressure from one side on the referee” to secure the result.

Egypt had complained about the appointment of the referee beforehand, he revealed, and by full-time he was in no mood to hide his anger.

He insisted Egypt should have had a penalty and was equally adamant that what would have been Egypt’s second goal should not have been ruled out. “We deserved to earn this win, but we are leaving with pride because there was no fair play, no respect,” he said.

“There was no fair play in this match and I’m not happy with it. We have suffered injustice. FIFA raises the slogan ‘Fair Play’, but we don’t see it on the field… were it not for the errors, the result would have been different.”

The frustration was not reserved only for the officials. Hassan also tore into FIFA over the noon kick-off in Atlanta, arguing that the scheduling had disrespected the basic physical demands of the sport. “You don’t play at 12 at that time,” he said. “When will the players eat if they play at 12? Those who are doing this schedule don’t know football.”

Yet, amid the rage there was also a note of pride. Hassan said he had told his players he was grateful for their effort and that Egypt would “continue to mature and evolve”. He widened that pride beyond his own dressing room too, saying he was proud of “the Arab world” and of Africa.

The Egyptian coach confronted referee Francois Letexier after the game. “What I told the referee was ‘this is unfair. I said maybe he is carrying a scar or has something to hide. If somebody is trying to hide something, they often fail to hide it,” Hassan said about the incident.

“Anyway, when I am finished, I am not going to watch another game of this tournament”.

Both Argentina and Egypt needed 120 draining minutes to survive their opening knockout ties and had barely four days to recover before meeting for a place in the World Cup quarterfinals.

For Argentina, that short turnaround has come with a little more anxiety after Lionel Scaloni’s side, so smooth through the group stage, came within minutes of a seismic upset before edging Cabo Verde 3-2 after extra-time. Egypt, meanwhile, is here after beating Australia 4-2 (1-1 after extra-time) on penalties.

Scaloni did not hide his frustration with the scheduling after the win in Miami. “Now to rest. I don’t know how the World Cup is made but we had six days, and now we have three and a half. When you need the rest the most, you have the least.”

The holders looked vulnerable for the first time against Cabo Verde, unable to control the game as they had in the group stage and was repeatedly exposed in transition, even though Lionel Messi still found time to score his 20th World Cup goal.

The Latin American team’s discomfort with physicality will encourage Hossam Hassan’s Egypt, which has been built on defensive discipline and quick breaks through Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush.

“We aren’t focusing on Messi,” assistant coach Ibrahim Hassan said. “They might have Messi, but we have Mohamed Salah, and we have 26 Messis of our own.”

The tactical contrast is clear. Argentina will try to reassert midfield control and might bring in Leandro Paredes to bolster the inner channels and support Enzo Fernandez and Alexis Mac Allister.

Egypt will sit in a compact block and wait for moments to release Salah and Marmoush into the spaces, following the blueprint Cabo Verde found. Ahmed El Fotouh, Karim Hafez and Mohamed Abdelmonem are racing against time to recover from knocks, while Argentina might bring back Nicolas Tagliafico to the left side of the defence ahead of Facundo Medina.

Scaloni is expected to keep faith with the same core, but after 120 exhausting minutes, Atlanta may reveal whether Friday was merely a stumble or the first real crack in the champions’ defence.

Match starts at 9.30 p.m. IST

The script was written long ago — small island nation, eliminated at the group stage, goes home with a good story. Cape Verde has not read it.

Three games in at the 2026 World Cup, it is unbeaten, through to the knockouts, and nobody is quite sure what to expect from the African nation.

Cape Verde became a FIFA member in 1986. After failing to qualify for the 2002 extravaganza with a loss to Algeria in the Qualifiers, the country made steady progress.

Cape Verde attained its first AFCON qualification in 2013 and came close to sealing a World Cup berth in 2022, only to fall short at the final hurdle due to a last-game draw against Nigeria.

Four years later, it went one better — topping its CAF group ahead of Cameroon to book its tickets for the North American showpiece.

Cape Verde’s first test was against a Spanish side that had dismantled defences on the way to the EURO 2024 title. The Sharks held the Spaniards to a goalless draw through an exemplary display from their 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha. They then came from behind to hold Uruguay 2-2.

Saudi Arabia, too, could not find a way past the Cape Verde defence.

It now has a date with Lionel Messi’s Argentina in the round of 32. A year ago, that sentence would have read as fiction. However, Bubista’s men have spent the last three weeks making the football world question everything it thought it knew. Why stop now?

As Argentina legend Lionel Messi makes history at the World Cup, his father is experiencing a “health situation” that prompted family members to release a statement on Thursday (June 18, 2026).

Jorge ​Messi is “under medical supervision” as he continues to recover from a medical condition that ‌was not revealed. The family statement said he is “progressing favorably.”

Speculation about ​the star player’s 68-year-old father, Jorge, prompted a terse tone ⁠in the family statement.

“In light of the versions, rumors and speculation that have circulated in recent hours, the family wishes to express their profound discomfort at the lack of sensitivity, ‌respect and scruples with which some individuals have treated a strictly private and family matter,” the statement read.

“The family also wishes to ‌clarify that only his closest relatives have real and accurate information regarding Jorge’s ‌condition. ⁠Therefore, any version, statement, or information that does not come directly ⁠from the family and its official channels should not be considered valid or truthful.”

Jorge Messi reportedly is involved in overseeing his son’s business interests.

In the opener of his record sixth World ​Cup, Messi was brought to ‌tears over his three-goal performance in a 3-0 victory over Algeria on Tuesday. His first ever World Cup hat trick gave him 16 goals all-time in the tournament, tying Germany’s Miroslav Klose for the record.

He was asked about wiping ‌away tears in the wake of the performance.

“Why did I cry? ​It was something completely unrelated to football. I went through some difficult days,” Messi said in Spanish after the game.

Argentina’s second ⁠match in Group J is against Austria on Monday (June 22) at Arlington, Texas.

The complete Messi family statement:

The Messi family announces that Jorge is going through a health ‌situation.

At this time, he is under medical supervision, recovering and progressing favorably given his current condition.

In light of the versions, rumors and speculation that have circulated in recent hours, the family wishes to express their profound discomfort at the lack of sensitivity, respect and scruples with which some individuals have treated a strictly private and family matter.

The family also wishes to clarify that only their closest ‌family members have real and accurate information about Jorge’s condition. Therefore, any version, statement or information that ​does not come from the family itself and their corresponding channels should not be considered valid or truthful.

In moments like this, ⁠we ask for responsibility, prudence and humanity. A person’s health and the peace of mind ⁠of those around them should not be the subject of speculation or irresponsible media interest.

We sincerely thank everyone for the expressions of affection, ‌respect and concern received, and we ask that Jorge’s privacy, confidentiality and intimacy – and that of his entire family – be preserved during this process.

Any relevant ​updates will be communicated in due course by the family and the corresponding channels.

Thank you for your understanding.