Messi takes giant leap from Maradona's shadow as Argentina conquer captain's final frontier

Even though there was hope for retribution in Qatar in 2022, it appeared to be fading as Kylian Mbappe-inspired France stubbornly clung to a 3-3 tie in Sunday's enthralling final.

While Argentina may have let another golden opportunity slip through Messi's fingers, the Albiceleste's success in the penalty shootout thanks to Emiliano Martinez ensured that Messi would never miss another chance of this magnitude.

According to the legend, he is still troubled by nightmares from the 2014 final loss to Germany, and the 2022 final will forever replace those.

All of Messi's hopes and dreams were riding on this game.

This week he reaffirmed that the final game on Sunday would be his last at the World Cup. Everyone already knew that was the case, but knowing for sure only ratcheted up the excitement.

As a whole, France was fighting against the rest of the world. Due to the efforts of one player, this World Cup final may have the most lopsided fan base of any in tournament history.

Messi has been at the centre of discussions about who is the "greatest of all time" (or "the GOAT") for a long time. Most people have always agreed that he deserves this position, but there have been naysayers.

Those who disagreed with Messi often brought up his national team's lack of success as their main argument. Technically, he took care of that last year by winning the Copa America, but he'd need to match Diego Maradona and win the World Cup to silence the most adamant naysayers.

Long before Messi and Argentina feasted with Les Bleus in Lusail's massive golden bowl, there were numerous indicators that this time was different.

His appearances and performances in Qatar have taken on an air of vengeance and anger recently. Messi has looked like a man possessed by in pursuit of one final ambition, from his icy goal celebrations to his embrace — even leadership of — the needle in the quarterfinal shootout win over the Netherlands.

He continued right where he left off against Croatia. After a shaky start, things picked up considerably in the first 20 minutes with Messi at the heart of nearly all of the action.

The French appeared frightened in the face of Argentina's intensity and aggression, while the Albiceleste appeared to enjoy the pressure.

Les Bleus regularly gave the ball away inside their own half, which opened the door to attacking pressure and, eventually, a goal. In a quick and easy move, Angel Di Maria skinned Ousmane Dembele and then enticed him into a silly foul inside the box.

It seemed like an eternity before Messi finally took the kick, but he scored with the ease of a man who had accepted his fate long ago.

It was just desserts for Argentina's furious start, and there was more to come in the form of an instant classic World Cup winning goal.

Messi's importance was once again highlighted. After being fed a devilish pass, his improbable flick proved devastating. During a counterattack, France allowed Julian Alvarez to break into their own half. The striker then had the foresight to pass to Alexis Mac Allister, whose perfectly weighted pass into the box set up Angel Di Maria for an easy finish.

It capped off a first half performance that left France coach Didier Deschamps completely stunned, and it was the first time in World Cup final history that both teams' coaches had made substitutions before halftime.

But after halftime, Argentina's defence collapsed, and their strategy of coasting on a 2-0 lead backfired. When France finally did threaten, however, things took a dramatic turn for the worse for Lionel Scaloni's troops.

While Mbappe had gone from 0-100 in the blink of an eye, Argentina's captain suddenly looked exhausted, physically and emotionally. It was slipping through his fingers in the most excruciating way. 

And yet, even in the face of the newly inspired Mbappe, Messi stood out as the man most likely to deliver the telling blow.

Indeed, Argentina thought Messi had won it when he tapped in after Hugo Lloris failed to hold Lautaro Martinez's strike in the second half of extra time.

But back came France. Again. Another Mbappe penalty brought despair to the Argentina team, bench and crowd. A shoot-out beckoned, and even then only after Emiliano Martinez had saved brilliantly from Randal Kolo Muani at the death.

And so it was that the most outrageous of World Cup finals was going all the way; Messi's last tango was going to be as agonisingly intense as possible.

Mbappe stepped up first and scored, of course, but Messi matched that with a penalty so cool-headed that his team-mates must surely have drawn inspiration from it.

Emiliano Martinez's save from Kingsley Coman and Aurelien Tchouameni's woeful miss proved decisive. Argentina cried; France stood in shock having come so close to their own seismic moment in history, fighting back twice in defence of their title, only to leave with nothing.

But this was all about Messi. The greatest player of all time finally got his chance to lift the most coveted prize in football, the one trophy his greatness demanded. Argentina flocked to him, barely a dry eye in the stadium.

"Messi! Messi! Messi!" fans sang at full-time as the huge crowd in Lusail revelled in the gravity of what they had just witnessed.

This was what World Cup finals are supposed to be like, but in virtually every way there will probably never be another like this.

It was the football equivalent of man setting foot on the moon for the first time; in future years people will reminisce over where they were when Messi won the World Cup, and the sheer lunacy of the game will only add to what was already a captivating tale.

At long last, Messi took his own giant leap, finally conquering his final frontier.