35-year-old La Albiceleste captain, Lionel Messi, finally saw his long-cherished ambition come to fruition on Sunday night at the Lusail Stadium north of Doha \u2013 the same venue where they had most unexpectedly suffered a loss to lowly Saudi Arabia in their opening match \u2013 scoring twice as Argentina finally saw off gutsy defending champions France\u00a0on spot kicks.<\/p>\n
Most assuredly a match that will undoubtedly go down in World Cup history as one of the greatest, nail-biting finals, the tense encounter had first finished 2-2 in normal time \u2013 Argentina had been earlier 2-0 up until the 80th minute until a sizzling Kylian Mbappe equalized for Les Bleus \u2013 and then the match went to 3-3 in extra-time.<\/p>\n
In the 108th-minute Messi\u2019s goal looked to have finally sealed it, but the tenacity and unyielding determination of France talisman Mbappe conjured up his magnificent and most timely hattrick to force the shoot-out. The rest is history \u2013 Argentina went on to win 4-2 on penalties.<\/p>\n
Messi, who had after the semi-final victory agasinst Croatia\u00a0said this would be his final World Cup, told Argentine TV following the win on Sunday: “I want to keep experiencing a few more matches as world champion. Obviously I would like to end my career with this – I cannot ask for more.<\/p>\n
“My career is nearly over because these are my last years.”<\/p>\n
Messi, who has won almost every other major trophy \u2013 last year, he captained Argentina to the Copa America crown \u2013 seemed destined to miss out on the game\u2019s greatest prize.<\/p>\n
He lost the final to Germany in 2014, despite being named player of that tournament.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, after collecting another award for best player, he said: “It’s crazy that it happened at the time it happened, but it’s amazing.<\/p>\n
“It’s amazing that it could end this way. I said previously that God was going to grant me this and, I don’t know why, but I felt it was going to be this time.”<\/p>\n
On the match, which forged a similar path to Argentina\u2019s quarter-final victory against the Netherlands, also on penalties, Messi said: “It was a very strange match, the same as the other one against the Netherlands, and then when we went ahead in extra-time, it happened again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni would not entirely rule out Messi representing his country at another World Cup. Messi will be 38 by the time the tournament kicks off in the US, Canada and Mexico in the summer of 2026; he will turn 39 during it.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst of all, we need to save him a spot for the next World Cup 2026,” Scaloni said. “If he wants to keep playing, he\u2019ll be with us. I think that he\u2019s more than entitled to decide whether he wants to keep playing for Argentina or not, or what he wants to do with his career.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s such a huge pleasure for us to coach him and his teammates. Everything that he meets with his teammates is something unparalleled, something I\u2019ve never seen before. A player, a person who gives so much to his teammates.\u201d<\/p>\n
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