ANALYSIS: Cry for me, Argentina: The joy and sorrow of the Qatar World Cup final
abc.net.au/news/world-cup-final-full-of-joy-sorrow-lionel-messi-last-victory/101788298Lionel Messi is in tears, falling to his knees in the grass. He holds his arms out wide, his face a portrait of pure sublimity. He has realised something nobody else knows, like he has seen the face of God, like he has touched paradise.
Because it was not just one game. It was games within games, histories within histories, stories within stories. The Albiceleste are everywhere, engulfing the navy blue of the reigning champions like a mist, shrouding and suffocating them. It is 10 minutes before we hear the name of Kylian Mbappé, and it will be 60 minutes more before he decides to force it from our mouths.
The referee's whistle melts into the whistle of the fans as their captain shuffles forward and arcs his gold boot smoothly, shooting the ball through for the opening goal. There are Argentinians already in floods of tears. Everything is heightened here, the emotions piling up game after game, year after year, decade after decade, all coalescing into this one moment that feels like everything in an otherwise empty desert.
But as the second half begins, so too does the second game. All of a sudden, the things we thought we knew begin to unravel. The momentum leans in France's favour. The passes begin to connect, to penetrate, to threaten. They still haven't had a shot as the hour ticks past, but every minute they seem to muscle their way closer to one.
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