For almost two decades, Lionel Messi accumulated titles, records, Ballon d’Ors and moments of genius. But he lacks something to complete his career. In Qatar, at the age of 35, the Argentine captain arrived at what seemed to be his last opportunity to win a World Cup, and finally reach the top with his national team, a ghost he has always lived with. It was that year, rocked by the cries of the Argentine people, that destiny had one of the most beautiful stories in the history of football in store for him.
The 2022 edition was the first to be held in the Middle East and also the first to be held between November and December, a change motivated by the extreme temperatures of the Qatari summer. In a small country, where all the stadiums were separated by a few tens of kilometers, the World Cup took place in an environment unlike any seen before and under a lot of external pressure for choosing FIFA in a country known for human rights violations.
The tournament started in the worst way for Argentina. The 2-1 defeat against Saudi Arabia, in the opening game, entered the list of the biggest surprises in the history of the World Cup and seemed to call into question the dream of the tri. The reaction, however, was immediate. Led by Messi and coach Lionel Scaloni, who promoted fundamental changes to the team, such as the entry of Enzo Fernández, Argentina beat Mexico and Poland, overcame Australia and the Netherlands in the qualifiers and eliminated Croatia 3-0 to return to a world final 36 years after the title won by Diego Maradona in 1986.
And on the other hand, if Argentina carried the weight of the fast, France was looking for something equally rare: defending the title won in 2018. Even without several important figures due to injury, Didier Deschamps’ team once again demonstrated enormous quality and found in Kylian Mbappé the main figure of a new French generation.
Along the way, the World Cup produced other memorable stories: Morocco became the first African team to reach a semi-final, eliminating Spain and Portugal in a historic campaign that mobilized the entire Arab world. Japan won the groups of death by defeating Germany and Spainwhile the Germans fell again in the group stage for the second consecutive edition.
Portugal experienced a campaign that left “a taste of wanting more”. Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player to score in five different World Cups, but the team ended up being eliminated in the quarter-finals by Morocco. In between, Gonçalo Ramos, who replaced Ronaldo, signed a hat-trick in the 6-1 defeat against Switzerland, in what was one of the best Portuguese performances ever in the final stages. The elimination also marked the end of the era of Fernando Santos, European champion, in charge of the national team.
The final between Argentina and France immediately entered the list of the greatest games in the history of football and, probably, the greatest World Cup final of all time. The South American team led 2-0 and seemed headed for the title, but Mbappé scored two goals in just two minutes and took the match to extra time.. Messi once again put the Argentines ahead, Mbappé responded again and completed a historic hat-trick. After a 3-3 draw, the decision went to penalties.
