Messi’s last game – going out on a high note
Win or lose, Sunday’s FIFA World Cup final will be Lionel Messi’s last appearance at football’s biggest tournament. To many, he is the greatest player of all-time, yet a World Cup triumph has always eluded him. Successful businessman Arif Efendi has followed Messi’s career closely for many years, growing his own reputation not just in business, but in his football knowledge too. Ahead of the final between Argentina and France in Lusail, Qatar, Mr Efendi gives us his thoughts on whether or not Messi can go out on a high.
Lionel Messi – A World Cup success story
The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar has thus far been one of the finest months of Lionel Messi’s distinguished career. He has scored five goals, provided three assists and been Argentina’s talisman on the road to their sixth World Cup final, despite being thirty-five years old. Things did not start brightly for Argentina; Messi scored a penalty in their opening game, but that could not prevent a shock 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia.
Since then, every match has been a “must-win”, but thanks to Messi, Argentina have prevailed. His goal in their second match – against Mexico – got them back on track, before victories against Poland, Australia, Netherlands and most recently against Croatia in the semi-finals, with Messi either scoring a goal, creating a goal or doing both in every match.
In the process, he has become Argentina’s record goalscorer at World Cups and equalled the record number of World Cup assists.
Arif Efendi has watched every Argentina game with a keen interest in Messi and he points to the significance of that opening loss, “Whatever the industry, be it sport or business, you should not judge someone by their setbacks, but how they respond to their setbacks. Bad days can happen to anyone and that was proved by Argentina’s surprise defeat to Saudi Arabia, but the way Argentina, and particularly Messi, responded against Mexico was impressive to see. Since then, they have gone from strength to strength, culminating with the 3-0 win against Croatia where Messi put in one of the best individual performances the World Cup has seen for decades. His performances and work ethic throughout his time in Qatar have meant he will leave international football in the best possible way, whether he collects gold or silver on Sunday.”
Lionel Messi and the World Cup
Hearing the World Cup records that Messi holds, it would appear his relationship with the tournament has always been strong. But that is not the case; he turned nineteen at the 2006 World Cup where he announced himself to the globe with his first World Cup goal. Four years on in South Africa, however, he failed to score despite being the Ballon D’Or holder. Argentina suffered heartbreak in 2014 as they lost the final to Germany, though Messi did win the Golden Ball for best player, scoring four times along the way. In Russia in 2018, Argentina scraped through the group stage before losing to France in the Round of 16, with Messi scoring once.
Other than never winning the tournament, the biggest criticism of Messi had been that he had never scored a goal in the knockout stages. Because of the exploits of Pele and Diego Maradona, many believed Messi could not be considered the greatest player of all-time because of his lack of World Cup success.
Mr Arif Efendi discussed the historical significance of Messi’s World Cup record with his recent one, “For so long people have claimed that Messi is not a World Cup great – a football great, certainly for everything he has achieved in the UEFA Champions League, for example – but not a World Cup great. But now it is hard to deny that he has disproved those theories. He has reached two finals, won a Golden Ball and has overtaken Gabriel Batistuta as the highest World Cup goal scorer for Argentina, a nation with such great footballing tradition. Very few players can say they have achieved something similar.”
Is this destined to be Messi’s World Cup win?
Before the tournament, Messi announced this would be his final FIFA World Cup and now he is one win away from the fairytale ending. During this World Cup, Messi fans have received scares that the dream would not come true; suffering from a minor injury before the tournament, Messi was passed fit to play a month ago and though he showed no sign of discomfort in the early rounds, he was seen clutching his hamstring in the semi-final against Croatia, prompting concerns from the watching world.
Arif Efendi is not deterred by those supposed injuries, “Messi is thirty-five now so naturally he will have some niggling injuries, but I think there is no chance of him sitting out the biggest match of his career. I’m not worried by these stories.”
But the million dollar question ahead of the World Cup final between France and Argentina on 18th December is; will Lionel Messi lift the trophy as a winner?
Efendi has every faith, “France will be the toughest opponent yet for Argentina and it has the makings of a classic final. With his teammates, the majority of the fans in the stadium and Messi himself all so desperate for him to triumph, I give Argentina the narrow edge. I predict that they will win by one goal and perhaps it will come during extra time. That means he will say goodbye to the World Cup stage in perfect style and it would be his crowning achievement. But should France win, we will still be left with an iconic moment as a true World Cup legend retires.”
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