A legend was created when 35-year-old Lionel Messi lit up the World Cup, delivered numerous clutch performances, and pushed Argentina to victory.
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The FIFA World Cup in Qatar concluded only on Sunday and the world held its breath as Argentina edged out France on penalties after the match ended 3-3 after extra time. The final match of the tournament was just as fascinating as the rest of the competition, which saw thrills, spills, and some exceptional individual performances. Yes, the beautiful game is a team game, but there always are a few players that just lift the quality of their teammates. One of the best football World Cups ever was played in Qatar, where teams like Morocco and Saudi Arabia pulled off significant upsets. Josko Gvardiol of Croatia, Jamai Musiala of Germany, and Jude Bellingham of England made their marks on a big stage during the tournament, but star players like Cristiano Ronaldo delivered a lacklustre performance.
Without further ado, here are some of the players who shined in Qatar
A legend was created when 35-year-old Lionel Messi lit up the World Cup, delivered numerous clutch performances, and pushed Argentina to victory. If there was ever a player who deserved to finish the game of football with a world cup, it was Messi. During the World Cup knockout rounds, Messi put on some of his most memorable performances of his international career. In his seven tournament appearances, he scored seven goals and contributed three assists, earning him the Golden Ball, which is given to the World Cup’s best player.
In the 2022 FIFA World Cup final against Argentina, Kylian Mbappe scored a hat trick. He is a superstar who deserved to win the World Cup, but life is unfair and there aren’t always happy outcomes to the beautiful game. Mbappe took home the Golden Boot after making seven tournament appearances and tallying eight goals and two assists. He was outstanding in Qatar, avoiding defenders and confusing goalkeepers with his precise finishing.
It was a Fiorentina midfielder who ended up being the star of a tournament that was supposed to be headlined by the superstars of the game. Sofyan Amrabat pushed his way to dominance in the middle of the park while being all business and efficiency. Amrabat was willing to give his entire body to his team, and in addition to consistently giving the ball away, he was also excellent with the ball in his hands. It was a visual treat to watch him step in, take on all the pressure, win the ball back, and then release his teammates for breath-taking counters. Amrabat was a standout midfielder at the FIFA World Cup 2022.
One of the competition’s most impressive forwards was Olivier Giroud. The French striker demonstrated why he is arguably the most underrated striker of his generation by contributing four goals to France’s World Cup run. Giroud helped lessen the load on players like Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann by contributing with important goals in the knockout stages against Poland and England.
After Lionel Scaloni made a few adjustments to the first-team lineup, Argentina’s victorious World Cup campaign really began to falter. One of the most significant changes was the striker switch from Lautaro Martinez to Julian Alvarez. The tireless Alvarez worked tirelessly by Scaloni’s side with the tenacity of a bloodhound. He proved to be the ideal counterbalance to Lionel Messi and netted four important goals throughout the competition, including an outstanding brace against Croatia in the semi-finals. As one of Manchester City’s two outstanding young strikers, Alvarez undoubtedly has the potential to reach great heights.
