Magical Messi hoists World Cup after final for the ages

LUSAIL, Qatar : As fireworks exploded and some 80,000 people roared, Lionel Messi smiled. His Argentina soccer shirt covered by the bisht the Emir of Qatar had just draped him in – the cape reserved for top officials and sheikhs. He smiled, he paused, then he hoisted high the World Cup, a lifetime’s dream realised.

For all the accolades, all the awards, the riches, titles and silverware, there had been one stain on his career resume, and it was one he erased forever on a magical World Cup night for Argentina.

“It's anyone's childhood dream,” Messi said. “I was lucky to have achieved everything in this career... and this one that was missing is here.

"It's madness... look how she (the World Cup) is, she's gorgeous. I wanted her so much. I had a vision that this would be the one... she was getting closer."

On this patch of green in the Qatari desert all that mattered to the 35-year-old was to deliver the much-yearned-for World Cup to Argentina, and he did so with a virtuoso performance against defending champions France in what transpired to be a final for the ages.

Having steered Argentina to a 2-0 lead which they blew in the final 10 minutes, he then put them ahead in extra-time, before finally converting his penalty in the shootout which they ultimately won.

As tens of thousands of Argentines packed into the febrile stadium jumped and hugged and cried and screamed, so too did the Argentine team, sobbing freely and mobbing the man who has been their talisman for a generation.

It had taken five attempts, and a record 26 World Cup finals matches, but the boy from Rosario - the farm hub city some 300 kilometres north of Buenos Aires - finally delivered to lift himself alongside that other Argentina footballing deity, Diego