Sport
Lionel Messi’s glittering World Cup career deserved to end on a more dignified note
In so many ways, this World Cup was Lionel Messi’s tournament. Kylian Mbappe might have won the Golden Boot and Rodri the Golden Ball, but the 39-year-old was the star that lit up the 2026 World Cup more than any other player, and yet he was left in tears of disappointment after Sunday’s final.
Spain deserved to win. They were clearly the better team over the course of 120 minutes, ultimately getting their hands on the trophy thanks to Ferran Torres’ extra time winner. At no point of Sunday’s World Cup final did it seem likely that Messi and co. would be the ones enjoying the ticker tape reception.
Messi deserved better. If this was to be his final World Cup game, as seems likely considering the Inter Miami playmaker will be 42 by the time the 2030 tournament comes around, Messi warranted a better sendoff than what the rest of his team gave him as Argentina produced a cowardly performance.
It took Argentina until the 116th minute of Sunday’s final against Spain to register a shot of any kind. They became the first team in World Cup history not to register an effort on goal in regulation time of the final with Messi and his teammates extremely cautious in their performance.
Of course, Spain’s performance was a big factor in Argentina’s inability to impact the match as an attacking force. The European champions controlled the majority of possession and made it very difficult for their opponents to play out from the back, counter-pressing them at every opportunity.
Messi didn’t have a single touch in the opposition box. He was a non-factor in a match he’d been expected to define. At 39 years old, Messi offered very little against the ball, allowing Spain to play through the lines with ease, while Argentina couldn’t get the ball to the Inter Miami playmaker often enough for him to be any kind of meaningful influence.
Worse than Argentina’s lack of attacking threat, however, was their lack of class as it became apparent that the World Cup trophy was slipping from their grasp. Indeed, the defending champions disgraced themselves with some of their conduct towards the end and after the full time whistle.
Leandro Paredes will surely face some sort of punishment for grabbing Eric Garcia by the throat before launching into an attack on Gavi. There were other incidents of petulance as Argentina lost a game in which the only mark they made on Spain was in the number of times they kicked them.
It was an undignified end to a tournament for Argentina, although not completely out of character considering their antics in the semi-final win over England. Thomas Tuchel and his players surely weren’t too distraught to see the likes of Giuliano Simeone and Enzo Fernandez lose in the final. Many England supporters made a point of openly backing Spain.
If this was the end of Messi’s glittering World Cup career, it was an underwhelming conclusion. The 39-year-old was denied glory by Spain and dignity by his own teammates who seemed more interested in scrapping than doing anything that might have tipped the game in Argentina’s favour.
Argentina will co-host the next World Cup in 2030 and so if Messi is still playing by then there’s a slim chance he will be included in the 26-man squad to play a role, even if it’s a minor one off the bench in matches. He might not have played his final World Cup match, although Sunday’s final was his chance to bow out at the top and Argentina failed to help him do that.
