Have you ever imagined a goal feast, intense battles, thrilling 120 minutes, repeated twists and turns, and nerve-racking tiebreakers at the end of the FIFA World Cup 2022 final? Lionel Scaloni’s Argentina won the title with incredible success. Lionel Messi got the adorable golden trophy. 

This is called destiny, Lionel Messi will lift the World Cup, but not in the easiest way. Countless dramas with a final test of nerve, perhaps the most incredible drama in the history of the World Cup final has ended with Messi lifting the trophy. Finally, Argentina’s 36-year wait for the world cup has ended. Who knows, maybe this tournament will end the debate about the great footballer of all time. Many people did not want to accept Messi as the best because he did not win the elusive World Cup trophy, and finally, he won that one too.

Journey of Champion Argentina in the FIFA World Cup 2022

After many regrets, disappointments, and pains, Lionel Messi and his Argentina finally got hold of the World Cup. Millions of football fans around the world are sure to be very proud and happy. However, the journey was not very smooth, and it was a hell of a ride for Argentina. The 36 trophyless years are finished now. Let’s recap Argentina’s World Cup-winning journey.

Dramatic Final

After being ahead with two goals until 80 minutes, Argentina could not win in the first 90 minutes. An extra 30 minutes was not enough to bring out the result. Despite Lionel Messi’s double goal, Argentina failed to keep the lead. Kylian Mbappe’s hat trick brought France back into the game. In the end, a tiebreaker decided the outcome. After defeating the French, Messi finally kissed the trophy for new world champion Argentina. Albiceleste has become the world champion for the third time.

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Mbappe equalized with two goals in 97 seconds after Argentina was ahead for 80 minutes in Sunday’s final at Lusail Stadium. Again Mbappe drew level 3-3 with a penalty after Messi’s second goal in extra time as Argentina went ahead again. Then Diego Maradona’s successors beat France by 4-2 goals in the tiebreaker.

In the tiebreaker, both teams scored their first shot. After that, goalkeeper Martinez became a wall, blocking Kingsley Coman’s shot. Ahelia Tchouameni hit their third shot wide. Finally, Argentina erupted in joy when Gonzalo Montiel hit the target in Argentina’s fourth shot. And blue-white waves rise in Lusail stadium.

The statistics also show how exciting the match was. At the same time, the image of the Argentine power and the turning of the French. Argentina was a little ahead in possession of the ball and a lot in attack. They took 20 shots on goal and 10 on target. France was half in these two places; Five targets out of 10 shots. Further, fouls have also happened; Argentina fouled 26, and France 19.

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Breathtaking Semi-Final

Argentina took revenge by beating Croatia. In 2018, Luka Modric’s team defeated Argentina 3-0 in the group stage match. In that revenge, Argentina defeated Croatia by 3-0 and reached the final. Croatia did not get any chance in the match that guaranteed the ticket to the final for Argentina. By 69 minutes of the match, Argentina scored 3 goals and avenged the World Cup in Russia.

Only 2 of the 12 shots on goal by the Croats were on target. But they could not defeat Emiliano Martinez. On the other hand, 7 out of 9 shots taken by Argentina were on target. However, Argentina was not that much aggressive. Even after 18 minutes of the match, Argentina was on the back foot in the attack. Messi’s team had only managed to keep the ball 35 percent of the time, compared to Croatia’s 65 percent. However, the next period was dominated by Argentina. Argentina went into halftime with a 2-0 goal lead.

With Alvarez’s score in the 69th, Argentina got a 3-0 lead. In the counterattack, Messi took the ball from the right side and entered Croatia’s defense, and passed the ball to Alvarez in the D-box. He defeated Livakovic with a perfect shot. With this goal, Alvarez scored his fourth goal in the World Cup in Qatar.

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Impressive Quarter Final

Argentina vs Netherlands quarter-final was another magnificent match. First, Argentina went ahead with 2 goals. It seemed that Lionel Messi had reached the semi-finals of the World Cup. But at the end, the Netherlands scored 2 goals and leveled the scorecard. The game went into extra time and there was no goal either. In the end, the quarterfinal goes to the tiebreaker to decide the fate. Argentina went to the semi-finals after defeating the Netherlands 4-3.

Van Dijk took the first shot and Martinez deflected it. Messi scored the first shot for Argentina. Martinez also returned the second shot of the Dutch. His team also scored in the next shot, and the tiebreaker scoreline was then 2-0.

The Netherlands and Argentina both scored on the next shot. The fourth shot was also successful for the Dutch. Argentina missed the next shot. As a result, hope lives on for the Dutch, trailing 3-2. But when Lautaro Martinez scored the next shot, the semi-final was confirmed for Messi.

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Round of 16

In the round of sixteen, Lionel Messi and Julian Alvarez’s goals defeated Australia 2-1, and Argentina confirmed the quarter-finals through this. Argentina can take the first shot on goal in the 35th minute, and Messi scored that goal. He evaded three Australian defenders with a left-footed shot from Otamendi. This was his 789th goal in his 1000th career match. In the first half of the match, Argentina went into the break with a 1-0 lead.

From the beginning of the second half, the Albiceleste started to play desperately for the goal. Argentina scored in the 58th minute of the second half. It was his 2nd at the World Cup, and it took his tally to six in 6 matches in an Argentina jersey.

Australia scored a goal in the 76th minute, which was an own goal. Goodwin took a shot from outside the box that hit Lisandro Martinez’s face and the ball went into the net.

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Group Stage

Football is sometimes beautiful, sometimes cruel. Argentina, who looked like they would be knocked out in the first round, ended all fears by beating Poland 2-0 to become Group C champions. Before that, Argentina beat Mexico in a do-or-die type match as they lost their first match against Saudi Arabia.

Argentina’s advancement to the next round depended on their last two matches of the round stage, and the team successfully won both. Despite their 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia, Argentina came back in the second match and beat Mexico by 2-1. 

Lionel Messi’s Performance, Records, and Awards in FIFA World Cup 2022

Fulfilling dreams or removing imperfections, whatever you say, Lionel Messi is in seventh heaven right now. He is now the world champion. Despite returning empty-handed in the last 4 World Cups, he now gets what he deserves. But in all, Messi has made numerous records by playing in the World Cup in 5 seasons. Messi, who failed to grab the trophy in 2014, now has some significant World Cup records in his bucket. Lionel Messi lit up the Qatar World Cup from beginning to end with a magical performance.

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Let’s see 35-year-old Messi’s record achievements in Qatar World Cup 2022.

- Messi played a total of 26 matches in the World Cup with the final, which is a record. He broke the previous record of 25 matches played by German great Lothar Mathews.
Messi has played a record 19 matches as a captain in the World Cup. The next two places on the list are Mexico’s Rafael Márquez (17) and Argentina’s 1986 World Cup-winning hero Diego Maradona (16).

- Messi is the only player to have assists in five different World Cups. Brazilian legend Pele, Poland’s Grzegorz Bolesław Lato, Maradona, and England’s David Beckham have assisted in three tournaments.

- Messi played a record 2,314 minutes in the World Cup. In the final, he broke Italy’s great Paolo Maldini’s previous record of 2,217 minutes.

- Messi sits next to Pele in the record for most assists in the knockout stages, with 6 assists.
The gap between Leo’s first and last goal in the World Cup is 16 years and 184 days, which is the longest. Next is Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, 16 years and 160 days.
Messi has become Argentina’s highest scorer in the World Cup by scoring 7 goals in the 2022 tournament. He is followed by Gabriel Batistuta (10), Maradona (8), Guillermo Stabile (8), Mario Kempes (6) and Gonzalo Higuain (5).

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- Messi has been the man of the match 11 times in the World Cup. He got this recognition in five out of seven matches in Qatar.

- Messi is involved in 21 goals (13 goals, 8 assists) in the World Cup. There are three people behind him with 19 goals - Germany’s Jared Muller, Klose, and Brazil’s Ronaldo.
Messi became the first player to score in the group stage, last sixteen, quarter-final, semi-final, and final in a World Cup.

- Messi became the first player since 1966 to score a goal and assist in three different matches in the same World Cup. He is also the first player to score goals and assists in four different World Cup matches.

Among these records, four were listed in the Guinness World Records.

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Guinness World Records by Messi at FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022

With Qatar World Cup’s incredible performance, Messi’s four other Guinness World Records titles in the process:

- Most Man of the Match awards at the World Cup: 11 (before this tournament, Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi, and Arjen Robben had each won six Man of the Match awards at World Cup tournaments)

Most appearances in FIFA World Cup by a male player: 5
Most World Cup appearances as captain: 19
The only player to assist at five different World Cups.

Awards

Considering his great performance throughout the tournament, Lionel Messi won the Golden Ball, the best player award. And he became the first player to win two Golden Balls in two separate World Cups. In addition to that, out of his seven matches, Messi won the man of the match award 5 times.

Final Words

Messi, who won the Ballon d’Or a record seven times, has all types of achievements at the club level in an illustrious career. Won everything possible, both individually and as a team. After many painful stories, he got a taste of the title in the Argentina jersey last year with Copa America. Moreover, he won La Finalissima a few months ago.

His only regret was not getting the World Cup, and now he got this one too. Messi’s magic brings the third World Cup for Argentina and wraps up the debate of GOAT (Greatest of All Times).

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Winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar trophy, Argentina puts an end to a 36-year-long wait for the title. Before that Argentina won Football World Cup in 1978 and 1986. They were runners-up in the FIFA Football World Cup tournaments in 1930, 1990, and 2014.