DOHA, 14 Dec: The blue-and-white wall of Argentina fans launched into another rendition of their World Cup anthem as fulltime approached at Lusail Stadium.
\n\u201cMaradona,\u201d they sang, \u201cis cheering Lionel on\u201d from heaven.
\nThe parallels between the two all-time greats of Argentine soccer, Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi, are becoming ever more striking in Qatar.
\nJust like the 1986 World Cup seemed to be a highlight reel for Maradona, Messi has made his mark on this tournament with a string of spectacular goals and assists, carrying Argentina\u2019s class of 2022 into the final.
\nThere have always been echoes of Maradona in Messi \u2014 his size, his dribbling skills, his quick feet, his wand of a left foot.
\nAdd in the leadership and fighting qualities he has shown throughout the tournament and it really does feel like Messi is imbued with the spirit of Maradona as he closes in on soccer\u2019s ultimate prize.
\n\u201cMessi is playing the Maradona role in the World Cup,\u201d Jorge Valdano, who was in Argentina\u2019s victorious World Cup squad in 1986, said in an interview to TyC Sports channel.
\nThat was clear to see in Messi\u2019s latest stirring performance as Argentina beat Croatia 3-0 on Tuesday to advance to the World Cup final for the sixth time.
\nAnd nothing encapsulated his magnificence more than his assist for the third goal, scored by Julian Alvarez.
\nReceiving the ball on the touchline just inside Croatia\u2019s half, Messi lifted the ball over the challenge of Josko Gvardiol and sprinted down the right flank. Gvardiol chased him, constantly grabbing the jersey of the Argentina captain, and was then bewitched as Messi dropped his shoulder and swiveled the other way to turn and burst into the area. Then came the simple cross with his right foot that Alvarez swept home.
\nIt was another moment of magic in a tournament that has been full of them by Messi.
\n\u201cPersonally,\u201d Messi said, \u201cI can say that I feel very happy in this whole World Cup. I am enjoying it a lot and luckily enough I can help my whole squad to make things happen.\u201d
\nAfter the match, an Argentine reporter conducting a post-match interview with Messi broke off from asking questions and told him that, whatever happened in the final, he had succeeded in making a mark on every Argentine\u2019s life and was bringing joy to the country.
\nAnd for Messi, it is now about more than just winning soccer matches.
\n\u201cIt is no longer only the result but the road we have traveled,\u201d he said. \u201cBefore in Argentina, it was valued to win or lose, but I think people now value other things.\u201d
\nThat may be so, but winning the World Cup would cement his legacy, allowing him to join Pele and Maradona in the pantheon of soccer\u2019s greatest players. He might be there already, but being a World Cup winner would end the debate.
\nMessi reiterated that this would most probably be his last dance at a World Cup \u2014 he will turn 39 during the 2026 tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
\nAnd he\u2019s been doing plenty of dancing, on the field after matches and in the locker room, as Argentina has rebounded with five wins following a shocking loss to Saudi Arabia in its World Cup opener.
\n\u201cIt was an acid test for this whole squad but this squad proved how strong we are,\u201d Messi said. \u201cWe won the next matches. It was very difficult what we did because every match was a final and this was a mental load because we knew things would be more complicated for us.
\n\u201cWe managed to win five finals and I hope it will be this way for the last game. Internally, we were confident that we would make it because we know what we are capable of as a squad.\u201d
\nAfter the victory over the Netherlands in the quarterfinals, Messi said Maradona \u2014 who died two years ago \u2014 was looking over the team as Argentina came through a heated, fiery match.
\n\u201cDiego is watching us from heaven,\u201d Messi said. \u201cHe is pushing us. I hope it stays like that until the end.\u201d
\nWell, Messi will be there at the end. And he is doing his very best impression of Maradona along the way. (AP)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
DOHA, 14 Dec: The blue-and-white wall of Argentina fans launched into another rendition of their World Cup anthem as fulltime approached at Lusail Stadium. \u201cMaradona,\u201d they sang, \u201cis cheering Lionel on\u201d from heaven. The parallels between the two all-time greats of Argentine soccer, Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi, are becoming ever more striking in Qatar. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-206953","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=206953"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206953\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=206953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=206953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=206953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}