Reminiscing Messi’s Magical 2022 World Cup Run

Many people may not remember this, but Argentina was in real jeopardy of missing the knockout stage. The squad lost its first game 2-1 to Saudi Arabia. That made their next game against Mexico a must-win.

The situation was simple. A tie would have kept the Argentinians barely afloat, and a loss would have kicked them out entirely. It was as high-pressure a match as Messi has ever faced.

The match didn’t start well. Messi and company started sluggishly. It was a scoreless first half, and things were getting dicey.

Once again, a tie was no good because their fate was not in their hands for the final game in terms of advancing, so they needed a goal. That was when the magic man wearing number 10 came to the rescue. At the 64-minute mark, from regular free-kick range, Messi delivered a strike with his left foot to put his team up 1-0.

That shot itself lifted the weight of the world off the Argentinians’ shoulders. From that point on, they were clearly the better team and dominated the rest of the game, winning 2-0. They won their final group stage match with ease and glided into the knockout stages.

This was when Messi took over the tournament. Argentina won the round of 16, quarterfinals, and semis, and he scored at least one goal in each match. That placed them in the finals, where they would face the defending champs in France.

It was time for Messi to capture that trophy he so dearly needs. Was he going to avenge his 2014 World Cup Final loss, or were the French going back-to-back?

Game Of His Life

The 2022 World Cup final featured two teams that met in the tournament before. France and Argentina met in the Round of 16 in 2018 in an action-packed game. The French won the game 4-3.

This time, the stakes were much higher. The match began, and the Argentinians were clearly the better team. Messi kicked off the scoring via a penalty kick midway through the first half.

Moments later, Angel Di Maria scored the second goal, and that put Argentina up 2-0. It was a sweet play set up by a nice pass by Messi to get his squad up 2-0. Till that point, the French were thoroughly outclassed.

It would, however, be foolish to write off the defending champs that fast. At the 80th minute, France drew a penalty in the box, which was desperately needed. Kylian Mbappe took the penalty kick and snuck it through to make it 2-1.

No time to celebrate, though, as there were just 10 minutes and change left. Not even two minutes later, though, Mbappe scored again on a broken play, and horror struck the Argentinians. Messi was going to have to earn his first World Cup trophy.

From Mbappe’s second goal to the end of regulation, it felt like Argentina was hanging on for dear life. France had the momentum and was playing much better. Extra time came, and the first half was scoreless.

The next score game in the second half of the extra period on a heads-up play by Messi to shoot it in, making it 3-2. A few moments later, though, a handball was called against Argentina in the penalty box, so Mbappe took and scored his second PK and third overall. A hat-trick to knot it up at 3-3.

After a clutch save by Argentine goalie Emiliano Martinez late in the period, the game went into a penalty shootout. Argentina won 4-2 in the shootout and captured their third-ever World Cup.

The wait was over for Messi. His name will be in the World Cup books forever.

End Of Messi Rant

There is no other way to put it. The 2022 World Cup was the Messi show. Could he possibly do it again?

A second straight title is hard to do. Only Brazil and Italy have won two straight World Cups. If Messi can pull it off, though, Argentina would, in my opinion, start to pass Brazil as the class of South America.

For Messi, this could make him not only the GOAT soccer player but the GOAT athlete.