Vinay Nayudu
Doha
Even if someone who is not a football fan was at the Lusail Stadium on Sunday, he or she may have surely fallen in love with the game after watching legends Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe and their genius at work in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 final between Argentina and France.
Nimble-footed and magical, Messi climbed the peak of expectations, scoring twice and creating several chances for his teammates in the final World Cup match
After being kept bogged down for over an hour, Mbappe emerged like a tiger with bursts of energy and skillful footwork to catch the rivals by surprise and to throw them off guard.
Rarely have such masters of a sport come together as Messi and Mbappe did in today’s final.
While Messi was rewarded with two goals, Mbappe scored three to become the only second man in history to do so at a World Cup final after Geoff Hurst of England in 1966.
But the contribution of both of them was much more than just the goals, they were inspiring leaders providing their respective sides with the light of going through a tunnel.
With the final being a see-saw affair and with the World Cup trophy at stake one thought that the pressure may perhaps get to them. There were such signs as Messi and Mbappe ruled the pitch throughout playing more than 120 minutes.
They displayed guts and gumption, guile and deception, speed and agility, and above all the timing and precision. It was poetry in motion mixed with the pulsating moments of the game that left everyone awestruck.
Messi was later declared the winner of the World Cup Golden Ball, becoming the first recipient of the honour twice, after inspiring Argentina to a penalty shootout victory over France.
Having been named the Golden Ball winner eight years ago at Brazil 2014, when Argentina were edged 1-0 by Germany in the final, the 35-year-old twice looked poised for heartbreak again after Kylian Mbappe’s hat-trick.
But after Emiliano Martinez saved Kingsley Coman’s spot-kick, Gonzalo Montiel’s decisive penalty ensured he claimed the greatest prize of all in his last World Cup game.
It means Messi emulates countryman Diego Maradona once more, too. Maradona was the player of the tournament in Argentina’s previous triumph 36 years ago.
The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner departed World Cup football after one of the most influential tournament performances of all time on a match-to-match basis, taking his total of Player of the Match wins to 11 across five tournaments.
He was named the Player of the Match in five games, including all of their prior knockout fixtures and the final, besting the record of four he previously jointly shared with the Netherlands’ Wesley Sneijder after his performances in 2014.
Mbappe, meanwhile, won the Silver Ball and Croatia’s Luca Modric - the previous Golden Ball winner at Russia 2018 - was named the recipient of the Bronze Ball.
But Mbappe, who now has a whopping 13 goals in two World Cups, scored a total of 8 goals at Qatar 2022 and emerged as the Golden Boot winner.Most Goals at Qatar 2022
8 goals
Kylian Mbappe (France) - 2 assists, 597 minutes played
7 goals
Lionel Messi (Argentina) - 3 assists, 690 minutes played
4 goals
Olivier Giroud (France) - 0 assists, 424 minutes played
Julian Alvarez (Argentina) - 0 assists, 466 minutes played
3 goals
Goncalo Ramos (Portugal)
Alvaro Morata (Spain)
Marcus Rashford (England)
Enner Valencia (Ecuador)
Bukayo Saka (England)
Richarlison (Brazil)
Cody Gakpo (Netherlands)