SI

Soccer World Debates Whether Lionel Messi Is Greatest of All Time

The Argentine star finally captured an elusive World Cup victory on Sunday to add yet another accolade to his historic résumé.

Zach Koons

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Lionel Messi finally captured the one accomplishment that had eluded him for the entirety of his brilliant career: a World Cup victory. 

In what was his fifth and final World Cup–and in his record-setting 26th game appearance at the World Cup, Messi led Argentina to a win over France in an unforgettable final in Lusail, Qatar. After clinging to a 2–0 lead through the first 80 minutes of the match, La Albiceleste yielded two goals to the French in a matter of two minutes, eventually sending the game into extra time. Messi and France’s Kylian Mbappé then each scored in the extra period, sending the match to penalty kicks at 3–3.

Argentina was perfect in the penalty shootout, downing France 4–2 to claim the country’s third World Cup championship and first since 1986. 

Messi was spectacular in Sunday’s final, scoring on a penalty kick in the 23rd minute and then again in the 108th minute following a chaotic sequence. The 35-year-old then led off for Argentina in the penalty shootout and easily slotted his attempt past French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.

The performance increased Messi’s goal total at the 2022 World Cup to seven, just one goal shy of Mbappé, who netted a hat trick in the final. Messi also dished out three assists in the 690 minutes that he played in Qatar.

After 171 appearances in international play with Argentina, Messi finally secured soccer’s crown jewel in his 172nd cap, but a World Cup title is just the latest of his vast accomplishments. Now that he’s had an opportunity to lift the World Cup trophy, the soccer world is largely in agreement that Messi is the sport’s greatest player of all time. 

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Zach Koons
ZACH KOONS

Zach Koons is a programming editor at Sports Illustrated who frequently writes about Formula One. He joined SI as a breaking/trending news writer in February 2022 before joining the programming team in 2023. Koons previously worked at The Spun and interned for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He currently hosts the "Bleav in Northwestern" podcast and received a bachelor's in journalism from Northwestern University.

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