Messi Lifts The Final Piece In The Jigsaw But Mbappe Upstages Him On The Biggest Night In World Football

The pieces have all come together now for arguably the most complete footballer in world history, Lionel Messi as he finally laid his hands on the coveted World Cup trophy on a tensed night at the iconic Lusail stadium in Qatar.

Lionel Messi fought back tears as Gonzalo Montiel’s clinical penalty finally ensured that Argentina won their third World Cup trophy after Diego Maradona led the side to lift the trophy way back in 1986.

It was an unbelievable night of football, laced with massive twists and turns in a game that looked strangely one-sided for more than 80 minutes until an unexpected penalty for France finally marked the turning point.

For more than 80 minutes in regulation time, Argentina looked far gone. Their tactical superiority overwhelmed the French so much that Coach Didier Deschamps was forced to take off Ousmane Dembele and Olivier Giroud before half time in order to implement a tweak in strategy.

The introduction of Randal Kolo Muani and Marcus Thuram injected fresh energy into the French team which had before struggled to deal with the combined onslaught of Angel Di Maria, Lionel Messi and Rodrigo De Paul.

Perhaps a terrible attempt at game management by Argentina Coach, Lionel Scaloni or a superior tactical tweak by French Coach Deschamps, but Argentina were left ruing the decision to take off Angel Di Maria.

A penalty in the 80th Minute, converted by Kylian Mbappe turned the complexion of the game as the 23 year old was soon to convert his second of the night with a perfectly placed shot towards the far left of goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.

Extra time provided few opportunities for both sides to win the game but it was Lionel Messi who found himself at the right place at the right time to bundle home a loose ball at the mouth of the French goal for Argentina’s third of the night.

France still managed to come back into the game in the dying embers of extra time when a penalty was awarded against Argentina for a handball incident. The resulting penalty was cooly dispatched by Kylian Mbappe for his third of the night and seventh of the competition, ensuring that he walked away with the golden boot.

Though Messi’s Argentina proved superior in the penalty shootout, neutrals were left in awe of the performance of the 23 year old Mbappe who stood shoulder to shoulder with no less a player than Lionel Messi, the greatest of all time.

So yes, Lionel Messi may have won the World Cup on a night of one of the best matches in world football history but it was Mbappe who won the hearts of football fans and rightly so.

Source: GhanaFeed.Com