Football’s biggest debate is the squabble over which of football’s legendary players is the greatest of all time – more commonly known as, THE GOAT.
For Lionel Messi, he’s potentially just 90 minutes away from emulating his boyhood hero Diego Maradona and cementing that accolade for himself.
The Argentine superstar has enjoyed the sort of career that others can only dream of, having shattered just about every record going during his club career with Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.
With seven Ballon d’Or awards to his name along with four Champions League, 11 league titles and countless other club honours to his name, his pedigree at club level is unrivalled.
Messi has also won the Copa America with Argentina, but there’s one major honour that is missing from his glittering trophy cabinet – the World Cup.
With a final showdown against France at Qatar 2022 lined up, the 35-year-old now has a chance to fill that one remaining gap in his personal trophy cabinet.
The likes of Pele and Maradona lead the list of GOAT contenders, with both players having lifted the famous golden trophy during their careers, meaning that Messi would silence those doubters should he force his way into the World Cup-winner category.
It’s taken 16 years to get to this point, but this is the journey of how Messi took himself to the brink of GOAT glory.
A big arrival
Messi’s first World Cup experience came in 2006, when he became the youngest player to represent Argentina at a World Cup – coming off the bench in just the 75th minute of their second group game against Serbia and Montenegro.
Grabbing an assist and a goal in a 6-0 win for Argentina was the perfect way to announce himself on the grandest stage of all, however his experiences in that tournament were limited.
Despite making his first World Cup start against the Netherlands in their final group game, Messi played just 121 minutes of action for his country that summer, leaving the Barcelona prodigy with a real point to prove.
However, with five chances created in that time, the world had certainly sat up and taken notice.
A victim of his own success
Messi came into the 2010 World Cup as one of the best players in the world and, as a result, the forward faced heightened expectations.
Fresh from scoring 34 goals for Barcelona in the 2009/10 campaign, Messi was tipped to take the competition by the scruff of the neck, but unfortunately, it wasn’t to be.
The forward racked up a competition-most shots with 29 and created 16 opportunities for his teammates but ended the competition with no goals to his name and just one solitary assist.
Despite playing every minute of Argentina’s five games leading up to the quarter-finals, Messi couldn’t help his country as they were dumped out of the competition with a 4-0 thrashing from Germany.
The prime years
Entering the 2014 World Cup at the age of 27, Messi was on top of his game and feeling confident going into the tournament in Brazil.
Netting four goals against Bosnia, Iran and Nigeria in the Group Stage, no player scored more than Messi in the competition’s opening round that year.
While he never found the net again in the 2014 competition, Messi led Argentina all the way to the World Cup final, only to be defeated by Germany for the third World Cup on the trot.
Despite the competition being a case of so near, yet so far, the forward was excellent on an individual level with four goals and an assist, while he topped the charts for chances created (23), chances created from open play (17), successful dribbles (46/76), carries (165) and passes played into the penalty area (61) on the way to winning the Golden Ball.
A premature exit
Looking to right the wrongs of the last tournament at Brazil 2014, Messi was keen to see Argentina one step further when they travelled to Russia in 2018.
Unfortunately, it was a competition that ended in misery with the South American nation dumped out in the Group Stage.
Things got off to the worst possible start when Messi had a penalty saved in the 1-1 draw with Iceland, before failing to register a single shot on target in a 3-0 loss to Croatia – the only time he’s ever had that misfortune.
Despite heading home early with Argentina, the forward notched a goal and two assists, while managing an impressive 18 shots in those matches and 10 chances created.
The last dance
As far as Messi’s final World Cup is concerned, things have gone almost perfectly.
Having played in all six matches so far, the 35-year-old has scored five goals already – level as the tournament’s top scorer with Kylian Mbappe – as well as bagging three assists.
Scoring a goal every 114 minutes, Messi has been a true inspiration for Argentina.
While he may not have the pace or stamina that he possessed in 2014 or 2018, the forward’s influence is unparalleled as he drops deeper into midfield and dictates play from the middle of the park.
It’s clear that Argentina’s players are keen to deliver the trophy for their talisman, the question is whether Messi can deliver in his last dance in the blue and white of his nation.
talkSPORT World Cup 2022 Coverage
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