The 36-year wait has finally come true today. The large poster of Maradona displayed by Argentine fans in the stands of Lusail Stadium shook slightly, and No. 10 "looked" when Argentina won the championship in 1986. In 2022, Messi, wearing No. 10, scored two goals, experienced overtime and penalty kicks, and once again brought the "Pampas Eagle" to the top of the world. At the post-match personal awards ceremony, Messi won the World Cup Golden Ball and kissed the Hercules Cup affectionately "in advance".

Messi

The "King of Football" was crowned, and many records were rewritten

On December 18, 2022, Beijing time, the "Pampas Eagle" Standing at the World Cup finals venue for the 6th time. The first five times were not all good memories. Except for winning the Hercules Cup in 1978 and 1986, the Argentinians ended their World Cup journey with defeats in the other three times. Argentinian fans hope that the team can end the World Cup journey with a victory this time. The defeat in the first game will not affect the realization of the dream. The Spaniard has proved this in 2010.

Messi is the well-deserved focus. The moment he stepped on the court, he set a new record - surpassing the German legend Matthaus and becoming the player with the most appearances in the World Cup with 26 appearances. What is more important than appearance is performance. The outside world had already predicted before this final that if Argentina wins the championship, Messi will become a veritable "king of the ball."

The exclusive World Cup appearance record is just the beginning of Messi's "statistics". In the 23rd minute, he scored a penalty kick created by Di Maria. This goal is to make up for past regrets. Previously, Messi had participated in 6 finals (World Cup, America's Cup, European and American Super Cup) with the adult national team, but failed to score; this goal witnessed the "first in history" The birth of "Man" - he has directly scored 21 goals in the World Cup; this goal is Messi's 6th goal in this World Cup, and he has also become the oldest person to score 6 goals in a single World Cup Player (35 years, 177 days).

After scoring in overtime, Messi celebrated in front of the fans. Picture/Xinhua News Agency

One minute after scoring the goal, Messi surpassed Maldini with 2218 minutes of World Cup playing time, ranking first in the World Cup playing time list. After that, every minute he was on the court All become new records.

After "breaking" the deadlock, Messi's artistic pass in the 36th minute led to Argentina's classic defensive counterattack and Di Maria's goal. In the 109th minute of overtime, he scored his second goal of the game and was the first to appear in the penalty shootout and took the penalty... Although Messi lost the Golden Boot battle with Mbappe by one goal, But he won something more important.

As Messi said before, "Diego is watching us in the sky", he finally did what the Argentine No. 10 did 36 years ago - leading the team to win the Hercules Cup. .

Di Maria

"Angel" protects and lays the foundation for winning the championship

Including the injured Di Maria on the World Cup roster once made the head coach Si Carloni has been criticized and questioned, but the "Angel", who participated in the World Cup for the fourth time, proved with his performance in the final that all the trust in him is worth it.

In the 2014 World Cup final, Di Maria was unable to participate due to injury. This was an injury blow that made Argentina worried. If Messi had Di Maria by his side that year, the plot might have been different. a version. The regret was made up for after 8 years. He made a point in the 20th minute and counterattacked in the 36th minute. Di Maria helped Argentina gain a dream first half. This data makes the "Angel" the first player to "create penalty kicks + goals" in the World Cup finals.

Messi and Di Maria celebrate the goal. Photo/Xinhua News Agency

After scoring the goal, Di Maria burst into tears. This was a goal that both he and Argentina had waited for too long. In the 64th minute, Scaloni replaced Di Maria, who had done enough. Fans in the stands applauded, and Argentina's coach and substitute players stood in front of the bench and applauded.

The "Angel" has long confirmed that this is his last World Cup. He scored points and scored goals in the final, helped Argentina win the championship, and helped Messi achieve the coronation of the new king. This is what the "Angel" should do. Enjoy a fairy tale ending - even before the ending comes, you still need to experience "exciting" episodes such as overtime and penalty shootouts.