Messi Wins World Cup, Argentina Beats France on Penalties
Argentina's Lionel Messi celebrates scoring his side's first goal during the FIFA World Cup 2022 against France on Dec. 18.
Photographer: Thanassis Stavrakis/AP
Lusail, Qatar (AP) -- Lionel Messi, wearing a black Qatari robe over his blue-and-white Argentina shirt, kissed the World Cup, shuffled toward his teammates and hoisted the golden trophy high in the air.
It was an iconic sight that finally — definitively — places the soccer superstar in the pantheon of the game’s greatest players.