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After many years of waiting, Messi and Argentina had finally done it. They had defeated France in the World Cup Final. This crowning of a World Cup title is Argentina’s third overall ending their 36 year drought.
For the longest, Messi’s career on the international stage has been one of sorrow and many defeats. Messi made his first appearance at the World Cup in 2006 against Serbia and Montenegro in which he had scored in his debut. After advancing out of the group stage Argentina had gone up against Germany in which they lost in penalties (4-2). When the 2010 World Cup rolled along it seemed as if Messi had faltered under the spotlight as he was unable to score a goal. Once again Argentina had faced a similar opponent in Germany in which the result was no different than the previous. In 2014, Messi and Argentina were the closest that they ever had been to winning a World Cup. Argentina for the third consecutive World Cup had gone up against the infamous Germany in which they lost in extra time. Mario Gotze of Germany had scored the game winning goal in such a heartbreaking fashion. Fast forward to 2018 in which Argentina suffered an elimination like no other during Messi’s tenure at the international level. Argentina had lost in the round of 16 when they went against the eventual champions Kylian Mbappé and France.
With all the many losses throughout Messi’s World Cup career it seemed as if the writings were already on the wall for his last go around in Qatar. From the opening game it appeared as if history were to repeat itself as Argentina had lost to Saudi Arabia (2-1) with their only goal coming from a penalty within the first few minutes. However, Messi and Argentina had their mind set on finally achieving the World Cup crown and experiencing the joy that he and many of their fans might not ever feel in their lifetimes. Argentina’s journey throughout this year’s World Cup was dramatic in every step of the way. The Round of 16 had Argentina go up against Australia in which they prevailed (2-1). Shortly after, the Quarter-finals stage had the country go up against the Netherlands in which to determine a winner it was forced to go to penalties. Argentina had jumped to a 3-0 lead during the penalty shootout before finally missing one while the Netherlands were able to tie it all up. The penalty shootout ultimately ended when Lautaro Martínez was able to score the final goal giving Argentina the 4-3 advantage to go on to the next stage. The Semi-finals had featured a juggernaut of an opponent with Croatia but during this match they vanished as Argentina was able to shut them out 3-0. Finally came the opportunity for revenge against France and Kylian Mbappé as well as a game that would serve as a “passing of the torch” between the two generational talents.
The first half of the World Cup had Argentina cruising their way to an eventual victory as they were up 2-0 at the 45 minute mark. Their two earlier goals had come from Messi and Ángel Di María. It wasn’t until the 80 minute mark where France had finally responded. In an extraordinary fashion, Mbappé was able to score two goals within a minute, tying up this game. When all seemed lost for France the momentum had shifted in their favor for what many thought would be the final 10 minutes of this game. At this point it felt as if Argentina was gasping for a heroic effort from their star player. Fortunately enough Argentina had contained France’s momentum and sent the game into extra time. Messi had scored another goal in this extra time before Mbappé had matched it at the 118 minute mark and sent it into another penalty shootout for Argentina. The penalty shootout was really never in question for the South American country as France struggled to have their shots on target. As for Messi and Argentina, it was no longer a waiting game anymore, their hopes and aspirations to win a World Cup had finally come into fruition. All in all, Sunday was the culmination of a legendary career as well as the beautiful swan song for the Argentine native as he finally obtained that elusive World Cup title.
For more sports coverage from MLB, NBA, NFL, to NCAA contact Julian Ojeda at 786-501-9082 or via email julian@communitynewspapers.com
