Messi's World Cup Dream Shattered as Argentina Falls to Spain

Lionel Messi could have settled the debate on who is the greatest player ever by winning another World Cup with Argentina on Sunday. Instead, he ended up in tears after Spain won 1-0.

Messi, now 39, led his team to another final. He scored eight goals and had two assists during a thrilling comeback against England in the semi-finals.

But lifting the trophy again, four years after he helped Argentina win in Qatar, turned out to be too much to hope for.

Ten-man Argentina did not threaten Spain at the MetLife Stadium. They were lucky to last until the 106th minute when Ferran Torres scored the only goal.

Argentina struggled throughout the match and faced a big setback when Enzo Fernandez was sent off in stoppage time.

The final seemed to pass Messi by, and as he cried, it was hard not to think he might have been better off retiring after his glorious night in Doha in 2022.

That victory allowed him to match Diego Maradona, who led Argentina to glory in 1986. But this time, he seemed to follow in Maradona's footsteps in a different way.

Maradona’s Argentina returned to the final in 1990 as the defending champions but lost 1-0 to West Germany, finishing with nine men. Messi’s side played similarly, using a tactic that seemed just to anger Spain.

Messi touched the ball only 54 times, and almost half of those touches were in extra time. He did not look like scoring the goal that would tie him with Kylian Mbappe’s World Cup record of 22 goals.

It was hard not to think he hurt his team once they were down to ten men. He became their only forward when coach Lionel Scaloni would have likely brought in Lautaro Martinez to help in attack.

Argentina could not become the first team to defend the World Cup since Brazil in 1962, but this was still a significant day for Messi.

He became the second player to play in three World Cup finals, joining Brazil legend Cafu. Pele won three World Cups but missed the 1962 final due to injury. Maradona played in two finals.

Some may still doubt Messi because he has now lost two finals, with this defeat following the loss to Germany in 2014.

Sunday’s final took place at the same stadium where he shocked everyone by retiring from international football at 29 in 2016.

By then, he had over 100 caps and was already seen as one of the greatest players ever due to his success with Barcelona.

But with Argentina, he had already lost three major finals, including the 2014 World Cup final and the Copa America Centenario against Chile in 2016. That game ended 0-0, and Messi missed a penalty in the shootout. "For me the national team is over," he said then.

He later revived his career with his country, winning the Copa America in 2021 and 2024, along with the 2022 World Cup.

The 2026 tournament in North America began as a victory lap for Messi. He scored a hat-trick in the opening game against Algeria, and the goals kept coming.

He now has over 200 caps and has played a record 34 World Cup games across six tournaments. This may be the end of his World Cup journey, as he will be in his 40s by 2030.

But there may still be calls for him to keep playing for Argentina a bit longer, especially since he has a contract with Inter Miami until 2028.

It has been a fantastic career, but Sunday’s final was too much for Messi and Argentina.