The tournament’s star player, the magician Messi, scored seven goals overall, including two in the nail-biting final match against the reigning champions, France.
What does it take to become a legendary figure in a sport that produces superstars year after year? The solution might be both very straightforward and extremely complex. It could be simple to become popular in the most popular sport in the world in the modern era, when every move and tackle performed, every pass made, and every goal scored reaches the handsets of millions of football fans in a matter of seconds. Worldwide, millions of people are passionate about football, and each week, club football players earn both admiration and hatred depending on how they perform. However, it is their national team accomplishments, particularly at the FIFA World Cup, that earn them a place in the Hall of Fame.
Numerous athletes have achieved greatness on the greens over the years, including Zico, Michel Platini, Johan Cryuff, Ferenc Puskas, Lev Yashin, Alfredo de Stefano, and a long list of others. But when it comes to who is the best of the best, only two people stand out: Diego Maradona of Argentina and Pele of Brazil. This is due to the fact that, in addition to the outstanding abilities and accomplishments that the two could point to, leading their respective nations to the World Cup victory meant that their names would be inscribed in gold letters in the annals of footballing history.
On December 18, 2022, another name was added to that exclusive and small list of all. Luis Messi. Even though his deft dribbling and countless goals at the club and international levels were more than enough to make him a legend, a World Cup victory was all he required to cement his place among the all-time greats.
For nearly two decades, Messi and his fierce adversary Cristiano Ronaldo have enthralled the football-loving public, and anytime the question of who is the “GOAT” was brought up for either player, the only disagreement was the absence of a world championship trophy.
Both Messi and Ronaldo led their respective countries to continental championships in 2016’s Euro and the 2021 Copa America, respectively.
The big prize was what these two greats needed most in Qatar because they may never again play on the World Cup stage. In the end, it was a motivated Argentinian team that delivered for Messi.
The magician himself was in the spotlight, scoring seven goals during the competition, including two in the nail-biting championship game against the reigning winners, France.
On his way to winning the trophy that Argentina had been hankering after for 36 long years since the legendary El Diego had done it for them, he broke a number of records. Messi is now officially known as “Messi-ah” in Argentina after finally emulating his idol.
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