I can't remember a better final!
Holy cow, that was something!
Argentina had the game under control. Bit of a gift, the first penalty. (One of my friends said "The Fix is in."). DeMaria with a great goal.
Then 90 seconds of M'Bappe, and zoom, tie game.
The last 20 minutes or so of regulation were nuts, end to end, must have been 5 more chances between the 2 sides. Anybody could have won at least a couple times.
Overtime, first session was "don't make a mistake". Argentina's subs brought life back to their tired midfield who had worked so hard in the first 70 minutes, but couldn't hold on.
Second session of overtime Messi wins it! Until France strike back yet again. Messi hit a blistering shot right before his 2nd goal, too. He had a worthy final game to win his WC.
Emi Martinez adds to his penalty stopping legend, and Argentina walk out winners for Messi. Very poetic.
This would be a really bad day to be Cristiano Ronaldo, wouldn't it? "That was supposed to be MY fairy tale ending."
My first World cup final was 1978. This is the best I've ever seen. Next best was '86 when West Germany came back late from 2-0 down to Argentina to tie it before Maradona fed Burruchaga for the late winner.
I thought the Nov-Dec time frame did wonders for the quality of play, especially in the latter stages of the tourney. Guys legs are so much fresher and it showed.
I thought this was the first game where France really missed the guys who were injured, especially Pogba and Kante. No way Argentina dominates the middle of the park with those two playing at full strength.
I thought dropping Messi deeper than he normally plays and playing him more centrally was crucial to Argentina's ability to dissect the French midfield though the first 60 minutes.
I also thought that Scaloni was almost France's MVP. Unless Di Maria just physically could not go anymore, replacing him with a left back was so stupid. When are managers going to learn that it is so hard to simply park the bus for 30+ minutes in this day and age.
I was rooting for Messi. he just happened to be surrounded by Argentines.
I think France has now surpassed Brazil as the pre-eminent soccer power. Four finals in the last 24 years and reaching the final with the injuries they had...their depth of talent is unparalled right now.
As far as the Ronaldo, Messi, Mbappe debate, Ronaldo transitioned from a winger with blazing pace and 1 v 1 skills to a true number 9. Messi has transitioned to being a combo guard - part scorer, part distributor and facilitator. Right now Mbappe is more of a Ronaldo. We'll see what happens when he starts to lose that explosive pace. Both Ronaldo and Mbappe make their teams better, both because of their individual 1 v 1 brilliance but the amount of attention they receive which opens things up for others. Messi makes his teammates better because he has the individual 1 v 1 brilliance, the amount of attention he receives and the ability to make that absolutely killer pass. For that reason, I put Messi as #1 among those three.
I never saw Pele play in his prime but I continue to think that Maradona is the best ever. I still think that his performance at the 1986 World Cup is the greatest ever, although Messi certainly came close this year. I can only imagine what he would accomplish if he played today rather than in an era where today's straight red cards were common fouls and today's yellows were laughed at as touch fouls.
