Lionel Messi the Victory Man
Lionel Messi has revealed he does not intend to retire from international football after Argentina’s dramatic World Cup final victory.
By scoring twice against France in an extraordinary match, the 35-year-old finally claimed the ultimate award in sports. Argentina led 2-0 at the break thanks to his penalty and Angel di Maria’s goal from the opening half, but Kylian Mbappe’s two goals in a span of 97 seconds forced extra time.
When Messi scored for the seventh time in Qatar, it appeared that he had won it. However, Mbappe scored to tie it up once again and send the game to penalties.
Both scored in the shootout but Kingsley Coman and Aurelien Tchouameni were then unable to convert their spot-kicks, setting the stage for Gonzalo Montiel to give Argentina a 4-2 win on penalties after it finished 3-3 at the end of 120 minutes.
Argentina’s World Cup campaign got off to a disastrous start when they were stunned by Saudi Arabia in their opening group-stage match, but Messi dragged them into the knockout stages and scored in every round as he picked up the Golden Ball for the best player at the tournament.
The Qatar World Cup was third in Argentina’s history. It had won two in 1978 and 1986 under Diego Maradona. Lionel Messi had come close to winning in 2014 but La Albiceleste lost the final 0-1 to Germany.
The only similarity from Messi’s 2014 campaign in Qatar was his Golden Ball award for Player of the Tournament award. He became the first player to win two World Cup Golden Balls.
Also Read: Argentina Stands Victories
Lionel Messi insisted
the final would not be his final international game he said after the match.
“No, I’m not gonna retire from the national team,” Messi told the media .
“I want to keep playing as World Cup champions with the Argentina shirt.”
On lifting the World Cup, he added: “I knew that God was going to give it to me.”
