Lionel Messi’s quest to strengthen his claim as football’s greatest player ended in heartbreak on Sunday, with Spain’s 1-0 victory over Argentina denying him a second World Cup crown and leaving him in tears.
With eight goals and two assists in the thrilling late comeback against England in the semi-finals, Messi, at 39, led the holders to another championship game.
However, four years after he led Argentina to triumph in Qatar, the prospect of winning the trophy once more turned out to be too good to be true.
At the MetLife Stadium, ten-man Argentina did not put a glove on Spain and were fortunate to hold out until Ferran Torres broke the impasse in the 106th minute.
Enzo Fernandez’s dismissal in stoppage time presented a significant obstacle for the forthright South Americans, who had labored throughout the game.
Messi lost the final, and as he sobbed, it was easy to believe that he would have been better off giving up on that amazing night in Doha in 2022.
With the triumph, he was able to follow in the footsteps of Diego Maradona, who led Argentina to victory in 1986. However, he emulated his illustrious predecessor in a different manner this time.
In 1990, Maradona’s Argentina made a comeback to the final as holders, but they lost 0-1 to West Germany with nine men after putting up a terrible, cynical performance.
They seemed to have no strategy other than to try to irritate Spain, and they fouled their way through this game as well.
Messi only made 54 touches with the ball, nearly half of which came during extra time, and he never appeared to have the opportunity to tie Kylian Mbappe’s World Cup record of 22 goals.
When they were reduced to ten players, it was difficult to avoid the conclusion that he ended up hurting his team because he was their only forward when coach Lionel Scaloni would have undoubtedly used Lautaro Martinez’s fresh legs in attack.
Even if Argentina was unable to become the first team to win the World Cup again since Brazil in 1962, Messi still had a historic day.
He matched Brazil’s legendary Cafu as the only player to play in three World Cup finals. Despite winning three World Cups, Pele was injured and missed the 1962 final. Maradona participated in two championship games.
The fact that Messi has now lost two of his finals—this one coming after the setback to Germany in 2014—may be cited by those who still mistrust him.
The final on Sunday was held in the same stadium where, in 2016, at the age of 29, he shockingly declared his retirement from international football.
Because of his accomplishments with Barcelona, he already had more than 100 caps and was considered one of the best players of all time.
Messi scored a hat-trick in the first game against Algeria, and the goals continued to flow, making the 2026 tournament in North America initially feel like a victory lap.
With over 200 caps, he has played in a record 34 World Cup matches in a joint record six competitions.
Given that he will be in his 40s in 2030, this will undoubtedly end his World Cup career.
However, given that he has a contract with Inter Miami through 2028, there might be appeals for him to continue playing for his nation for a little while longer.
Although Messi and Argentina had an incredible career, Sunday’s final was too difficult for them.
