Lionel Messi Endures Rare Off Day as Spain Beat Argentina in FIFA World Cup Final

A First for the Legend – Unwanted

Lionel Messi suffered a disappointing finale to an otherwise brilliant campaign as Argentina went down 1-0 to Spain in a nervy, extra-time thriller at MetLife Stadium. The legendary forward, playing in his 34th World Cup match across six tournaments, had a surprisingly quiet night on the field. Messi had not created a single goal-scoring opportunity for a teammate, a first in his World Cup career, as he was completely contained by a fiercely disciplined Spanish defence.

Masterclass in Quarantine: Spain.

From the opening whistle the game plan of La Roja worked to absolute perfection. The type of game the Spanish coach had dreamt of, and he acknowledged that his and his team’s priority was to keep the Argentine captain under wraps, which they did, limiting Messi to 15 touches in the first half and 54 in total. The 39-year-old struggled to find his rhythm with no space or time in dangerous areas. Spain controlled the game from start to finish, outshooting Argentina 20-2 and suppressing any real threat to take control of the match.

Heartbreak After Brilliant Run

But the decisive moment finally came when the second period of extra time was just 37 seconds old as Ferran Torres fired a shot off a clever Nico Williams header into the roof of the net. The strike secured Spain's first World Cup title since 2010 and ended a historic tournament run.

The final whistle brought bitter disappointment, but Messi’s overall tournament was nothing short of phenomenal. He scored eight goals and assisted another four as Argentina came within a whisker of back-to-back world titles, set a record with his third World Cup final start and finished with 125 international goals. The Spanish squad celebrated with the trophy while an emotional Messi walked through a respectful guard of honour of the newly crowned champions, wearing his silver medal, after a hard-fought battle that closed a massive chapter.