When Messi Completed World Football

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[00:00:30] Hello football fans, and welcome to Football Bedtime Stories. I'm Damien, bringing you Matchday Mindfulness to help you unwind and relax with some of the greatest moments in football. If you like the podcast, don't forget to follow and subscribe for more episodes. This is the story of Argentina at the 2022 World Cup, and the story of Lionel Messi's last great chase.

[00:00:59] I hope you enjoy. Argentina arrived in Qatar with hope surrounding them. Messi had won almost everything in football. League titles, Champions Leagues, Ballon d'Ors, Copa America. Matches that seemed impossible until he touched the ball. But one trophy was still missing. The World Cup.

[00:01:28] And for Argentina, that trophy always means something different. It means Diego Maradona in 1986, blue and white confetti, and a country that stops for football. So when Argentina walked out for their first game against Saudi Arabia, people expected them to win. Messi scored a penalty after just 10 minutes. Argentina had three goals ruled out for offside in the first half.

[00:01:59] Then the second half began. Saudi Arabia scored once, and then again. And suddenly, Argentina were behind. This wasn't a friendly or a warm-up match. It was real. And when the final whistle went, the score was Argentina 1, Saudi Arabia 2. One of the biggest upsets the tournament had ever seen. Argentina looked stunned.

[00:02:26] Messi looked calm on the outside, but you could almost hear the noise building around him. Was this going to be another World Cup that slipped away? Was this how his last dance would begin? The answer came in the next match against Mexico. For more than an hour, the game was locked. Argentina needed someone to break it open. Step forward, Lionel Messi.

[00:02:53] He received the ball outside the box. And with one touch, low shot, a goal. The relief was enormous. Argentina breathed a sigh of relief. Late on, Enzo Fernandes curled in a beautiful second goal. Final score, Argentina 2, Mexico 0. And the World Cup dream was alive again. Next came Poland.

[00:03:21] This time, Argentina looked stronger. Messi had a penalty saved by Wojciech Szczesny, which made the night feel awkward for a while. Then Alexis McAllister scored just after half-time. And when Julian Alvarez added another, Argentina went on to win 2-0, finishing top of their group. And all of that worry after the shock against Saudi Arabia, when Argentina had finally found their way through to the knockout rounds.

[00:03:51] First up, Australia. Messi scored with that soft, clever left foot of his, tipping the balance towards Argentina. Alvarez made it 2-0 after pressing the goalkeeper. And though Australia pulled one back through a deflected shot, Emilio Martinez, the Argentinian goalkeeper, saved what could have been a last-minute equaliser. A huge save put Argentina through to the World Cup quarter-finals and a game against the Netherlands.

[00:04:20] This was a classic football fixture. Argentina against an old World Cup rival. Messi produced one of the passes of the tournament for Molina, sliding the ball through a gap most players wouldn't even see. Molina scored, and then Messi doubled Argentina's lead with a penalty. But that wasn't the end of the match. Weghorst came off the bench for the Netherlands and scored once. Then, in the 11th minute of added time, the Dutch worked a clever free kick.

[00:04:50] Everyone expected the shot, but instead, the ball was slipped low into the box and Weghorst scored again. 2-2. The tension was obvious, and the game became angry. There were yellow cards everywhere. Players arguing, benches spilling forward, Messi cupping his ears towards Louis van Gaal. And after deadlocker extra time, the game went to penalties.

[00:05:16] A place in the World Cup semi-finals at stake. This part was all down to Emilio Martinez. He saved from Virgil van Dijk. He saved from Steven Berghaus, while another Martinez scored the winning kick. Argentina survived. Not smoothly, but they survived. And set a course for the semi-finals against Croatia. Football veteran Luka Modric was waiting for him.

[00:05:43] Still floating around the midfield like he knew the secrets the rest of us didn't. Croatia had reached the final four years earlier, and had knocked out Brazil on penalties in Qatar. But Argentina and Lionel Messi were ready. Messi scored a penalty. Alvarez ran through the middle of the pitch, bouncing past challenges in a mad, brilliant, scruffy charge, and scored a second. Then, a moment of inspiration.

[00:06:12] Messi took over on the right wing. He slowed down, sped up, twisted Guardiol one way, then the other. Guardiol had been one of the best defenders at the tournament, but Messi made him look like someone trying to catch a shadow. Messi pulled the ball back for Alvarez, who scored. Messi pulled the ball back for Alvarez, who slotted it home. Final score, Argentina 3, Croatia 0.

[00:06:42] The final was waiting for Argentina. All that stood in their way, was a game against France. Messi against Mbappe. The old king chasing the one trophy he needed to complete his collection. The young king trying to win his second World Cup, before turning 24. With a full stadium glowing under the lights, Argentina's fans sang as if they were trying to lift the team with sound alone. France,

[00:07:11] the defending champions, had won the World Cup in 2018. Their line-up was incredible. Mbappe, Griezmann, Giroud, Chouameni, Hugo Lloris. It's enough talent to frighten any nation. For the first half, Argentina were magnificent. They were quicker on the ball, braver with the ball, sharper in every corner of the pitch. Angel de Maria started on the left, and that made a difference. He stretched France.

[00:07:41] He ran at Dembele, and made the pitch feel bigger. Then, de Maria darted into the box. Caught by Dembele. Penalty. Who else but Lionel Messi stood over it? The weight of the blue and white shirt resting on his shoulders. Seconds later, Messi rolled the ball into the corner. Argentina won. France, nil. And the noise came pouring down. But Argentina weren't finished.

[00:08:10] In the 36th minute, they built one of the great World Cup final goals. Messi flicked the ball around the corner, and Julian Alvarez helped it on. Alexis McAllister sprinted into space, De Maria raced down the left. The pass arrived, and De Maria finished. Argentina went 2-0 up, and De Maria cried as he celebrated. France were officially in trouble.

[00:08:37] Didier Deschamps made two substitutions before half-time, and that hardly ever happens in a World Cup final. Off were Giroud and Dembele. On came Turam and Mouane. Whilst Argentina still controlled the game, France needed something, and the minutes were ticking away. 70 minutes, 75, nearly 80. With two goals in their pocket, Argentina was so close.

[00:09:05] But then France found a way back. Mouane ran into the box, Ottomendi pulled him back. Another penalty. This time for France, and Mbappé stepped up. He scored. Argentina 2, France 1. And France had something to chase. It was if someone had opened a window and let chaos into the stadium. 97 seconds later, France attacked again.

[00:09:34] Kingsley Coman robbed Messi. The ball moved quickly. Turam lifted it towards Mbappé, and Mbappé hit it first time on the volley. Goal. Argentina 2, France 2. For nearly 80 minutes, France had hardly been in the final. And now, Mbappé had scored twice in the space of two minutes. Argentina looked shaken. France looked awake. The whole stadium was trying to understand what they'd just seen.

[00:10:05] With normal time ending 2-2, it meant extra time again for Argentina. They'd already survived Australia's late surge. And the Netherlands coming back from 2-0 down. And now, in the final, they had to gather themselves once more. Extra time began with tired legs and tired minds. Then, in the second half of extra time, Messi followed in a shot that was parried by Hugo Lloris, and the ball crossed the line. Argentina 3,

[00:10:35] France 2. Messi had scored again, and for a moment, it felt like this had to be the ending. Messi with the goal, Argentina ahead, the trophy almost in his hands. But this final still had one more twist that came in the form of an Mbappé shot. The ball hit Montiel's arm. Penalty. Again. Mbappé. Again. He scored. Again. Argentina 3. France 3.

[00:11:05] A hat-trick for Mbappé in a World Cup final. Only Sir Geoff Hurst had done that before in the men's game, back in 1966 for England. Now, Mbappé had joined him. With only minutes left, somehow, the match still found room for more drama. Mouane ran clear, one-on-one. And if he scored, France would almost certainly win the World Cup. His shot was saved by the outstretched leg of Emilio Martinez.

[00:11:34] A save so big, it feels like more than a save. It felt like slamming a door shut. The final whistle went, and the 2022 World Cup final went to penalties. Mbappé scored first for France. Messi scored for Argentina. Then Martinez saved from Kingsley Coman. And Dybala scored. Chiumeni missed wide for France. Parades scored. Mouane scored.

[00:12:04] Then, came Gonzalo Montiel. The save Montiel, whose hand had given France the penalty in extra time. Now he had the kick to win the World Cup. He walked up. Right foot. Bottom corner. Goal. Argentina were world champions. Messi dropped to his knee his teammates ran towards him. The Argentina end disappeared into noise,

[00:12:33] tears and flags. After years of trying, years of being compared with Maradona and years of carrying that one missing line on his football story, Lionel Messi had won the World Cup. Argentina had won it for the third time and their first since 1986. Messi won the Golden Balls, the tournament's best player. He won the Golden Boot with eight goals, won more than Messi.

[00:13:02] Emilio Martinez won the Golden Glove and Enzo Fernandes won the Young Player Award. Messi also made his 26th World Cup appearance in the final, more than anyone else in the history of the men's tournament. and he had scored in the group stage, the round of 16, the quarterfinal, the semifinal and the final. That hot, sticky night in Qatar. The world of football belonged to Argentina and Lionel Messi,

[00:13:31] the man who won everything. And that's the full-time whistle on this episode of Football Bedtime Stories. Thank you so much for listening and if there's a big game you'd like to hear get the Football Bedtime Stories treatment,

[00:14:00] drop it in the comments below. Until next time, have a great bedtime. This podcast is part of Podomity Kids, the Podcast Comedy Network.