The international media enjoyed the spectacular World Cup final between Argentina and France. Several media speak of the best final ever; in England it is even spoken of as the best match ever.
“What a final! What drama and what madness! Congratulations, Argentina! Respect, France! We bow to both teams,” writes Germany’s BILD. The English newspaper Daily Mail calls Lionel Messi ‘the king of the world’ and La Gazzetta dello Sport uses similar terms. “The world belongs to Leo Messi. Argentina beat France 7-5 on penalties in the most thrilling World Cup final ever to take their third world title,” according to the Italian outlet.
“What a World Cup final!”, writes Dutch outlet Het Laatste Nieuws in Belgium. “Emotional roller coaster. Unreal scenario, definitely in a penalty shootout thriller. Messi has been called ‘definite God of Argentina’. Now also the world title on an almost unparalleled palmares. In the footsteps of Mario Kempes (1978) and Diego Maradona (1986), the country has achieved its greatest triumph. Lionel Messi, el mas grande.”
The Sun recalls the much-discussed words of Gianni Infantino, “This was the best final ever. The best football game ever, for sure. The somewhat insane Gianni Infantino spoke of the best World Cup of all time. After this nerve-wracking, mind-boggling and fantastic football game, he’s probably right.”
Messi deserved the World Cup
According to Marca, Messi deserved the World Cup. “Lionel Andres Messi Cuccittini has achieved what he has been looking for all his life. He has brought Argentina the joy it has been waiting for for more than thirty years after Diego Maradona stepped down as leader of the Albiceleste. No one managed to stay on top for so long. Pelé was thirty at his last World Cup in Mexico, Maradona was the same age in Italy. Leo added the third star to the Argentinian shirt at the age of 35,” they wrote.
The Madrid sports newspaper pays tribute to football after the final. “It’s sad for the losers, but football is beautiful. In no other sport can the team that is less than ninety percent of the game suddenly become the favorite because of 95 seconds of inspiration. ‘But Argentina owes the third star to eighty clear minutes and a clear predominance. Reigning world champion France was then relegated to extras. They didn’t even knock on the door,” they added.
