Lionel Messi, one of the living legends in the world, has led Argentina to the final of the Qatar World Cup. As a player, he has won everything there is to win. But Lionel Messi is yet to win a world cup for Argentina. In 2014, he was very close to touching the golden trophy. Unfortunately, the luck was not in his favor as they lost the game against Germany.
However, this time Messi has got another chance to fulfill his dream. Lionel Messi’s Argentina will fight with all they have to win the final at the Lusail Stadium on Sunday. Can Lionel Messi lead Argentina to win the World Cup for the first time since 1986?
A different version of Messi
In club football, Messi has been playing brilliantly year after year. However, when he played for Argentina’s national team, Messi’s position was changed by the previous managers. In the 2018 World Cup, Messi played as the center forward against France, and Argentina lost that game.
However, Argentina’s current manager Lionel Scaloni has given Messi freedom. Sometimes, Messi plays in the right wing, and sometimes Messi goes deep in the midfield to create the chance. As a result, Messi has become more effective than the previous world cups.
France manager Didier Deschamps is also aware of Messi’s new version in the national team. He said, “He[Messi] has been splendid since the beginning of the competition. Four years ago it was different. He started in a different place than we imagined and ended up as a striker. Now he has a striker[Julian Alvarez] and he has a lot of freedom, he touches a lot of balls, he looks very fit.”
Lionel Messi, however, is in the race for the Golden Boot. At the age of 35, Lionel Messi is fighting with 23 years young guy, Kylian Mbappe. Both players scored five goals each in the Qatar World Cup. Furthermore, Lionel Messi has a great chance to win the Golden Ball. He has already registered three assists so far.
This Argentina is something special.
This Argentina is something special. Every player in Argentina’s squad is very determined to help Lionel Messi win the World Cup. Rodrigo de Paul told reporters before the Qatar World Cup that every Argentine would go to war for Messi.
And after winning the quarterfinal against the Netherlands, manager Lionel Scaloni said with tears, “These players of Argentina doesn’t play for money. They play for the shirt.”
The team is stronger than ever because of this emotion for Argentina. So, it will be their best chance to lift the trophy.