'The final had been set up as a heavyweight bout between Mbappé and Messi — young against old, the swaggering heir apparent against the wily reigning champ — and this was exactly how it turned out,' marvels RyuSpaeth
, the man who would convert the penalty and, five goals and a shootout later, hoist the solid-gold trophy that once and for all secured his legacy as the greatest player of all time.
There was a sense that the universe was willing Messi to win, that this was the only right and fitting end to both his international career and this deeply satisfying tournament, though in truth he had to earn it over 120-plus minutes of wild and unpredictable soccer, playing the game of his life and overcoming a bravura performance from France’s Kylian Mbappé, who became the first person to score a hat trick in a World Cup final since England’s Geoff Hurst in 1966.
World Cup finals are usually cagey or one-sided affairs. Today’s game was neither, an evenly matched contest that featured a plethora of goals and that kept fans guessing all the way to the conclusion.
France spent most of the game shell-shocked, staggering around the field and showing little of the superior quality that saw them reach the final without ever needing to click into a higher gear. Their manager, Didier Deschamps, made a flurry of substitutions, though I’m not sure any of them really helped. The deciding factor was Mbappé, a marvel to watch when he is in full flow, his arms scything the air, his long legs stabbing the ground.
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