After his sterling performance, Lionel Messi has an even greater claim to be the greatest of all time. (AP pic)
1. Wow! Wow! And wow again!
The dream came true. The fairy tale happened. Romance is alive and well: the world and Lionel Messi got the Hollywood ending it wanted.
As commentator Peter Drury put it, “he shook hands with paradise”. But he went through hell and back on the way.
This was too far-fetched for Hollywood: the twists were so implausible but they happened. The agony was unbearable but we endured it. The drama was beyond the imagination.it was a thriller to end all thrillers and probably the best game ever played.
You couldn’t take your eyes off it; you didn’t want it to end. It wasn’t nail-biting, this was chomping the knuckles.
And the hero scored twice and another in penalties. Eventually prevailing over his rival Kylian Mbappe who bagged a hat-trick and lost.
It had everything, it had too much. Yet it was all packed into the last 10 minutes of the 90 plus extra time and penalties.
For almost 80 minutes, it was a one-sided anti-climax.
But now Messi has an even greater claim to be the GOAT (greatest of all time) as he was still the key man.
He scored the first and third goals and though he disappeared for spells, he popped up when needed.
Playing every minute since the start of the tournament at the ripe old age of 35 was some achievement.
Let it sink in: after what has seemed an eternity of longing, the world’s greatest player, in his fifth and final tournament, has won football’s greatest prize.
The one gap in his record has been filled, the box ticked and the itch scratched.
And one thing is for sure: we’ll never see his like again.
2. Where were France for 80 minutes?
France had a flu virus in their camp; but instead of paracetamol it seemed they treated it with Valium. Where were they for 80 minutes?
They were dead. Buried. The grave diggers were sprinkling the earth over the coffin. The mourners had left the scene and were well on their way to the wake.
There was no fight, no spirit, no cohesion. World champions? They were pale imitators.
They hadn’t had a legal touch in the Argentine box for 66 minutes. No shot on goal. Emi Martinez could have written his memoirs for all he had to do.
This was surrender. And abject at that.
They couldn’t get the ball to their main man; Mbappe couldn’t break out from Argentine shackles. Not since Brazil in 1998 has a team so spectacularly not turned up in afinal.
Then Brazil wandered around in a daze after Ronaldo’s seizure – and lost to France.
This no show was every bit as inexplicable. Not everyone had the virus but everyone was suffering the same malaise – whatever it was.
Taking off two main men five minutes before half-time told you how desperate Didier Deschamps was. But it worked: fresh legs made a difference even if it took another halfhour.
But the substitutions smacked of panic: Olivier Giroud and later even one of France’s men of the tournament Antoine Griezmann were taken off. They couldn’t string a pass together; they were simply not at the races.
Argentina totally bossed the game and it was impossible to see a way back for the French. It took a penalty to sow panic into the South Americans to do it.
Kylian Mbappe became the first player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final since Geoff Hurst did it for England in 1966. (AP pic)
3. Superstar delivered – but too late
Like the team, superstar Kylian Mbappe also seemed stricken. He couldn’t get into the game and was lost on the left wing.
The battle between him and his PSG teammate Messi was so one-sided, if it had been boxing, the referee would have stopped the fight: it was no contest.
The whole idea of the 23-year-old being Messi’s successor as the world’s best player seemed ridiculous. Until he smashed home his penalty.
Then we saw what he can do – become the first player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final since Geoff Hurst for England in 1966.
Then we saw a different Mbappe and he did for France what Messi had done for Argentina: although playing bursts, still carried them forward.
But he was criminally neglected for three-quarters of the game and why is where the French post-mortem must focus.
And he, himself, must find ways to impose himself even when things are going against him.
That’s if he’s ever going to be considered on the same planet as Messi.
Ultimately, France went down fighting even though they did mess up their spot-kicks.
Big monster Emiliano Martínez was Argentina’ hero every bit as much as the little maestro Lionel Messi. (AP pic)
4. Martinez a brick wall in penalty shootout
When it went to penalties, you sensed it was advantage Argentina – even when France had the first kick.
It was simply that in the giant 1.95m Aston Villa goalkeeper they have one of the best savers of spot-kicks in the game. And he did not disappoint.
But it was the save with his outstretched left leg in the dying moment of extra time that really clinched this – as France thought they’d found a winner.
Incredible agility and judgment for a man who a decade ago was in the wilderness He almost quit football to join his dad as a bricklayer so slow had his progress been.
A decade ago, he was on loan at Oxford United. Then he spent eight years at Arsenal – in the reserves. He played second fiddle to Bernd Leno until the German got injured and Martinez had his chance. He seized it with both big hands but was still allowed to leave to Aston Villa.
What the Gunners didn’t know was what a great saver of penalties he is or how good he is in big games – talents he demonstrated in the national side.
He completely out-psyches opponents as we saw with France. But he also has the athleticism and knack of knowing where the kick is going to save more than his fair share. And makes himself large.
The big monster was Argentina’ hero every bit as much as the little maestro.
5. Somehow Qatar staged a fantastic tournament.
For 80 minutes, it looked like Qatar was serving up yet another shock for us – a dull final.
A damp squib of a game to put a wet blanket on a sizzling tournament.
Because of what happened in the 80th minute and beyond, we may forget how poor the spectacle was beforehand.
But all changed and how!
So this World Cup, not forgetting the issues that plagued the build-up or the huge costs of staging it, delivered an absolutely stunning, unforgettable event.
Quite how is not immediately obvious. The close proximity of venues may have helped. So did the perfect temperatures.
But the lack of fans – Argentina and Morocco apart – didn’t do much for the atmosphere at certain games.
Was it because players were match-fit as it was mid-season? It may well have just happened.
What a spectacle it was. Storybook stuff from start to gripping finish.
