Argentina legend and now world champion Leo Messi is basking in the glory of greatness. His greatest desire of holding the World Cup trophy in his hands now stands fulfilled. Leo Messi played his last FIFA World Cup. In his 5th appearance for Argentina on the grandest stage of them all, Messi has conquered the world and has clinched the third World Cup title for Argentina. The great Diego Maradona's prodigal son Leo Messi has matched his heroics from the 1986 World Cup and he has now cemented his legacy which will be lauded by generations to come.
The little boy from Rosario, Argentina did not find it easy to start in the World Cup. As heroic as it may sound, skipper Messi opened Argentina's account against Saudi Arabia in the first game. The game certainly ended in heartbreak with Saudi Arabia outplaying Argentina, but that was just a start of a beautiful story. Messi was done and dusted in Lusail, but it was his sheer grit, passion, and determination that led him to the World Cup. Argentina and the Paris-Saint Germain legend had a stellar World Cup. He not only bowed out with the World Cup but was also awarded the 'Golden Ball', similar to 2014. He has now surpassed Brazilian legend Pele's record with 13 goals on the World Cup stage alone.
The world record
Before the Qatar edition of the FIFA World Cup, Lionel Messi always failed to score in the World Cup knockout stages, but things changed this time around and it was all destined to go in Messi's favour. In Qatar, Leo Messi became the 1st player in World Cup history to score in all 5 rounds in a single tournament.
Messi was destined for greatness. There is no doubt about that. Swedish legend Zlatan had called Argentina's World Cup victory much before the finals and even he agreed that it was in Messi's destiny to hold the trophy. With this victory, Messi has now won every tournament and both soccer and life have come full circle for him.
