Argentina's Lionel Messi celebrates defeating Croatia 3-0 in a World Cup semifinal soccer match at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) |
The same goes for Argentina after more than
30 years of disappointment since it last won soccer’s ultimate prize.
For Messi, victory against France at Lusail
Stadium on Sunday is a chance to finally get his hands on the one major trophy
that has eluded him in his storied career.
In doing so, he would push ahead of
Cristiano Ronaldo, who has also never won a World Cup, in the long-running
rivalry between the two greatest players of their generation.
While 37-year-old Ronaldo exited the
tournament at the quarterfinals stage, benched by Portugal and in tears in the
likely recognition that his last chance had passed, Messi is summoning some of
his finest moments in an Argentina shirt to inspire his country’s run to the
final.
“Each time we see him play, he makes us and
the players feel something special,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said.
“There’s something about him that people like, not only Argentines.
“We feel lucky and privileged to have him
wear our shirt.”
Messi’s place alongside Diego Maradona as one
of Argentina’s two most iconic soccer stars has been secure for some time now.
But he is yet to emulate Maradona’s greatest achievement by leading his
national team to a World Cup title.
Maradona did that in Mexico in 1986 and
Messi has lived with the expectation of repeating the feat since he emerged as
a prodigy at Barcelona nearly 20 years ago.
There have been numerous false hopes during
that time.
There was the potential “dream team” of
Maradona as coach and Messi as star player in South Africa in 2010. But
Argentina went out in the quarterfinals after being beaten 4-0 by Germany.
In 2014, with Messi approaching his peak
years, Argentina reached the final in Brazil.
Again it faced Germany. Again Messi was on
the losing side, beaten 1-0 through extra time.
At the age of 35, he knew this was probably
his last shot at the World Cup and he has risen to the occasion as the
tournament’s co-leading scorer with France forward Kylian Mbappé with five
goals.
Perhaps more notable have been his assists,
such as the disguised pass for Nahuel Molina’s goal against the Netherlands in
the quarterfinals.
Then there was his mesmerizing run, turning
Croatia defender Joško Gvardiol inside out, before setting up Julián Álvarez
for Argentina’s third in the semis.
“It’s at least something I can talk (about)
with my kids one day that I guarded this great, great player,” Gvardiol said
Thursday.
Those assists have been indicative of the
fact that Messi can no longer do it on his own. The emergence of Álvarez, with
four goals, has been vital to Argentina’s progress.
Messi doesn’t dominate for an entire 90
minutes anymore. Instead, he decides matches with key moments.
He isn’t as dynamic as he was in his
younger years, but he has been more influential than at any of his previous
four World Cups.
While Messi, is aiming to complete his
personal collection of trophies, having won four Champions League titles and
seven Ballon d’Or awards for the best player in the world, Argentina is looking
to end its long wait for a third World Cup.
It won the tournament for the first time
when hosting in 1978 and then again eight years later thanks to Maradona.
Messi was supposed to emulate that feat
long before now.
If he retires without ever winning the
World Cup, then how much longer will Argentina have to wait?
No wonder each moment of Messi magic and
every win is greeted with such an outpouring of emotion.
The sense of anticipation is growing among
Argentina fans, who have lit up the tournament in a sea of blue and white,
marching through the streets of Qatar,
Messi is feeding the belief that this could
be their time again.
If this is his farewell tour, he has given
his supporters a wild ride along the way.
And with or without a World Cup, Scaloni
has no doubt about Messi’s status as the greatest of all time.
“It seems like we say that just because
we’re Argentinians and we fall into the trap of being selfish because it is
very Argentinian to say that,” he said. “But I think there are no doubts.”
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