In the eyes of many Argentines, he ranks a detailed second to the late Diego Maradona who led the South American nation to World Cup glory in 1986. But that would change if he evokes one of many pre-tournament favourites to glory in Qatar. Maradona didn’t obtain as a lot as Messi in his membership profession however that magical run to the title in Mexico conferred on him immortality and a spot within the historical past of the football-mad nation. Messi has typically been described as Maradona reincarnated however the closest he got here to the World Cup title was within the 2014 ultimate as he shuffled previous the gleaming trophy to just accept the award for greatest participant on the match, eyes downcast.

🇦🇷🇧🇷🇫🇷 Messi, Neymar or Mbappe?

Which @PSG_English star has the very best likelihood of lifting the #FIFAWorldCup trophy in Qatar? pic.twitter.com/N61nV0GspS

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 2, 2022

Argentina’s 1-0 loss to Germany in Brazil was amongst a run of gut-wrenching defeats in 5 consecutive main finals as they questioned when the agony would finish. Messi unwillingly wore a bulls-eye on his again each time Argentina failed and even introduced his retirement in 2016 when the strain received an excessive amount of earlier than he was satisfied to return. Last yr, nonetheless, the burden was lifted off his shoulders when Argentina received the Copa America to finish a 28-year trophy drought. Messi, aged 34, had been their spark and was concerned in almost each objective Argentina scored within the match.

BEATING HEART
He was the beating coronary heart of the facet who broke down in tears as he was engulfed by his staff mates on the ultimate whistle after they beat arch-rivals Brazil. “I have peace of mind of having achieved the dream that has been denied to me so many times,” Messi mentioned. “It’s very difficult to win a World Cup or a Copa America. At the time they didn’t value what we did, they only put emphasis on the fact that we didn’t achieve the aim.”

With a staff that has a wealthy mixture of youth and expertise, Messi’s spark has grown ever brighter and the 35-year-old captain has turn into a person on a mission, evidenced by his sudden spurt of targets for Argentina. Lionel Scaloni’s staff are on a 35-match unbeaten run and Messi has scored 14 targets for his nation since that Copa America triumph — together with all 5 in a win over Estonia — to take his worldwide tally to 90 forward of his final World Cup.

“There’s some anxiety and nerves at the same time. It is the last one (World Cup). I’ve been playing with the national team for a long time now,” mentioned Messi, who made his Argentina debut in 2005 and has over 160 caps. “There have been spectacular moments, like in 2014, 2015 and 2016 – but we didn’t win and were criticised for not being champions. We did everything right until the finals.” In Qatar, Messi will look to steer his facet one step additional and justify his place within the pantheon of greats alongside his idol Maradona — as equals.