FIFA World Cup 2022 top players: Lionel Messi claims Golden Ball
Messi collected the Golden Ball award as the best player of the tournament moments before lifting the FIFA World Cup 2022 trophy in Qatar. Kylian Mbappe and Luka Modric were among his challengers.
Football
Lionel Messi has won the Golden Ball award, presented to the best player of the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar.
It is the second time the Argentine has claimed the prize, having done so in 2014 in Brazil, but on this occasion he also lifted the World Cup trophy - the greatest prize in men's football - that had eluded him for so long.
And it was anything but easy as Argentina squandered a 2-0 lead over France in the final before eventually winning 4-2 on penalties.
Messi scored twice in the final, including in extra time, at the end of a thrilling tournament.
Morocco, the first African team to reach the World Cup semi-finals, were the surprise name in the final four along with Argentina, Croatia and holders France.
We selected one player from each of the teams in the semi-finals as potential candidates for the coveted Golden Ball.
Lionel Messi's history-making World Cup campaign
The fairytale came true as one of the greatest players in history finally clinched the World Cup.
Lionel Messi's performances in Qatar were testament to just how much he wanted this, leading Argentina by example to glory.
No one expected the South Americans to fall 2-1 to Saudi Arabia in their opening game, despite Messi putting his side ahead from the penalty spot.
They went into their second game against Mexico knowing anything less than a win would almost certainly consign them to an early exit, but Messi - when his team needed him most - stepped up once more. A goal and a assist in the 2-0 victory put them back on track ahead of their final group game with Poland.
The Paris Saint-Germain forward was again at the centre of proceedings as Argentina booked their place in the round of 16 with a 2-0 win before scoring a wonderful goal to put them on the way to a 2-1 victory over Australia.
In the quarter-final against the Netherlands, the skipper scored a penalty before doing the same with his side's first effort of the shoot-out.
And then in the semi-final, he scored again from the spot before a superb assist which enabled Julian Alvarez to score his second, and Argentina's third, against Croatia.
In a dramatic final, Messi opened the scoring with another penalty to become the first man to score in each round of the knockout stages since the round of 16 was introduced at Mexico 1986.
After they finished level with France at 2-2 in normal time, Messi also poked home in the second half of extra time for his seventh goal of the tournament.
His PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe completed his hat-trick to make it 3-3 and force a shoot-out, but Messi scored Argentina's first penalty as they prevailed 4-2 to claim a third World Cup.
The 35-year-old had already written his name in the history books in Qatar, overtaking the late Diego Maradona for games played for his country at a World Cup tournament.
His assist in the Mexico win saw him become the first player to set up a goal at five separate men’s World Cup tournaments - 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, and now 2022.
Messi's semi-final spot-kick was his 11th goal in his fifth World Cup, overtaking Gabriel Batistuta as Argentina's top World Cup goalscorer.In
And the final took his World Cup appearance tally to 26, eclipsing the previous record held by Lothar Matthaus.
As well as the World Cup being at stake, the final looked like a straight shootout for the Golden Ball between Messi and Mbappe. And Messi being on the winning side, despite Mbappe's hat-trick, arguably gave him the nod.
Let's take a look at the numbers behind his influential campaign...
Kylian Mbappe misses out on second World Cup triumph
At just 23, Kylian Mbappe is well on his way to making the transition from potential superstar to all-time great.
The young Frenchman was not alone in firing his nation to back-to-back World Cup finals, with Olivier Giroud and Antoine Griezmann - reinvented as a box-to-box midfielder - playing key roles. But Mbappe is the Frenchman who set Qatar alight with his performances.
His performances against Poland, where he supplied an assist for Giroud to become France's all-time leading male goalscorer before scoring twice himself, was simply sensational.
England and then Morocco succeeded in keeping Mbappe relatively quiet, and Argentina subdued him for 80 minutes in the final before he exploded into life.
First, he converted a spot-kick before sweeping the ball home moments later to level the match at 2-2 and force extra time.
After PSG teammate Messi looked to have secured victory for Argentina, Mbappe scored again from the spot - under the most intense pressure - to take the match into penalties and take his tally to eight goals for the tournament, thus securing the Golden Boot award.
Mbappe calmly struck home France's first in the shootout, but his teammates were unable to follow suit as Argentina prevailed.
He had already moved ahead of Pele for most World Cup goals before the age of 24, finishing the tournament with 11 in tournaments. But the PSG forward was unable to join the Brazilaian great as the only man to win two world titles before turning 24.
Mbappe will surely have more World Cups ahead of him, but he had to give best to Messi in this year's Golden Ball.
Luka Modric: A leader on and off the pitch
At 37 years old, it is safe to say that Luka Modric defies age.
For club and country, he is an anchor in the middle of the park - whether he’s assisting with the attack or holding down the fort for the defence, he is everywhere on the pitch.
Modric was a key figure in the Croatian side who exceeded expectations at the World Cup four years ago in Russia, reaching the final. A 4-2 loss would see France lift the trophy at the end of 90 minutes, but the Real Madrid midfielder went on to be named the Player of the Tournament and took home the Golden Ball.
This time, they failed to reach the final but did take third place after a 2-1 victory over surprise packages Morocco with whom they had played out a goalless draw in their opening group game..
Croatia conceded early in their second group game against Canada as Alphonso Davies scored in just the second minute. But that merely spurred Zlatko Dalic's men into action. Andrej Kramarić scored twice in a 4-1 victory to leave them needing a point against Belgium.
With Modric pulling the strings, Croatia were superb in the first half. They had to be resolute in the second half as Belgium, bolstered by Romelu Lukaku, threw everything at them. But they held on for a 0-0 draw to advance to the round of 16.
The 2018 runners-up faced Japan who had stunned Germany and Spain to reach the knockout stages. It finished 1-1 after 90 minutes with Modric withdrawn 10 minutes into extra time. Croatia went on to win on penalties with Dominik Livaković inspired in goal.
Then came pre-tournament favourites in the quarter-finals. Croatia's central midfield trio of Modric, Mateo Kovacic and Marcelo Brozovic put in another confident display with Josip Juranović outstanding at right back. After no goals in normal time, Neymar’s moment of magic at the end of the first half of extra time looked to have sealed Croatia's fate. But Bruno Petković levelled for Croatia to force another penalty shoot-out.
This time, Modric stayed on the pich and converted his side's third spot-kick to put them on the brink of a second successive World Cup semi-fina. And after more heroics from Livaković, Mislav Oršić converted to send Croatia through.
Argentina would proved a bridge too far in the semi-finals with Modric outshone by his opposite no.10 Lionel Messi. He was substituted with 10 minutes in the 3-0 defeat but received a standing ovation from a packed out stadium.
And Modric played his part in the third-place match victory over Morocco, marshalling the midfield as only he can.
This is almost certainly the little magician's last World Cup, but he has led his country impeccably on and off the pitch.
Hakim Ziyech and Morocco's magical run
Morocco were the breakthrough side of this World Cup, becoming the first African side to reach the semi-finals before taking fourth place.
It was a fairytale story for Walid Regragui’s side but this was no fluke. An unforgettably committed display against Spain in the round of 16 sent them through on penalties to the quarter-finals where they produced more heroics to see off Portugal.
While Yassine Bounou was formidable in goal, Nayef Aguerd, Achraf Hakimi and Romain Saïss outstanding in defence, and Sofyan Amrabat resolute in the centre of midfield, Hakim Ziyech was instrumental in an attacking sense
The Chelsea winger was a handful down the right flank against Portugal, but perhaps his most important contribution came in the group stages.
Ziyech assisted on one of the two goals they needed in their stunning 2-0 win over highly-fancied Belgium before scoring in their 2-1 win over Canada which saw the Atlas Lions finish top of their group.
As the first Arab team to progress so far in a World Cup, Morocco were almost the home side in Qatar in the knockout stages. Despite that vociferous support and having the better of the game for long periods, they found France too strong in the semi-finals.
They were unable to end on a high in Qatar, going down 2-1 to Croatia in the third-place match. But Morocco's exploits at this World Cup will live long in the memory.