EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Lionel Messi couldn’t have conjured more magic.
Twenty years after his World Cup debut, two decades after a career that propelled him past Pele and Diego Maradona to become the best player in football, the 39-year-old is still unable to help Argentina win back-to-back titles for the first time in more than half a century.
Spain dominated Albiceleste from the opening whistle at the MetLife Stadium, where an overwhelming majority of 80,663 people wanted to see them crowned again. Ferran Torres scored 37 seconds into the second half of overtime. Led Spain to victory 1-0 And won the World Cup for the second time.
Instead of Messi becoming a two-time champion, that honor has passed. He held back tears and looked heartbroken as he and his teammates faced Argentine fans clapping and bowing at the south end of the stadium as Spain’s stars hoisted the trophy on a podium in the center stripe.
after leading Argentina wins against France in 2022 finalis sandwiched between c Consecutive Copa America ChampionshipsWhen Spain’s Lamine Yamal, the sport’s next big thing less than a week after his 19th birthday, ran to hug Torres after scoring, all Messi could do was bow his head, grimace and put his hands on his hips.
Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni said: “I hope everyone can be proud of his achievements because he is the greatest footballer to ever step on the pitch.”
Spain’s dominance continued throughout the final and the World Cup, extending their unbeaten run to 38 games, the longest by any European team.
According to Opta, La Furia Roja had a 20-2 advantage in shots on goal, the second largest margin of victory in a World Cup final since 1966, after West Germany outscored Argentina 23-1 in 1990. They outscored Argentina 845 to 433.
They conceded just one goal in the entire tournament, the fewest by any World Cup winning team, and scored 14 points while building a 145-45 advantage on shots. Goalkeeper Unai Simon made a total of 10 saves in eight games, and Argentina’s Emiliano Martinez made 11 saves in the final alone.
When Messi moved from European soccer to MLS three years ago after racking up four Champions League medals and 12 league titles with Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, some speculated he would be the latest retired player to move to Florida.
Instead, he won the Major League Soccer title with Miami, leading Argentina to the finals with eight goals and four assists. He played in 34 games in six World Cups and took his career goal total to 21, taking France’s Kylian Mbappé’s brace to 22 in Saturday’s third-place play-off.
Messi became the first player to start three World Cup finals and took his international goals tally to 125, second only to Cristiano Ronaldo’s 146 goals. He is now often listed alongside Maradona and Pele, the only three-time World Cup winner.
With a characteristically slow gait, swinging his arms at his sides and waiting for the right moment to start his sprint, the diminutive 5-foot-7 attacker was the center of attention every time he won the ball on the right flank. Opponents and fans were waiting for him to cut into the middle and take a deadly left-footed shot.
Messi had just 15 touches in the first half and 54 in a match at a stadium that has so often frustrated him. He famously retired from international football after losing on penalties to Chile in the 2016 Copa America final at MetLife, only to turn things around 47 days later and lead his country to their third World Cup victory.
Against Spain, Messi never had the ball in a position to score and his passes to teammates didn’t connect.
“The initial idea was to keep Messi at bay,” Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said.
After the final whistle, six Spanish players walked up to Messi, hugged him and consoled him. Messi collapsed on the grass, put his hands behind his back and stared.
Later, when Spain formed a guard of honor for the Argentine player to approach the podium for the second-place medal, Messi tried to laugh, but couldn’t. As he passed, he looked blank and several opponents patted him on the back and chest.
Spain is now one of the world’s soccer powers, and is the first country to hold the men’s and women’s titles at the same time. As golden confetti rained down on the Spaniards, Messi walked out the exit at the corner of the field, his silver repechage medal hanging around his neck, his shoulders shrugged and his expression cloudy.
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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here
