Lionel Messi stepped out of Diego Maradona's shadow by leading Argentina to World Cup victory last year and a statue of the diminutive forward will stand alongside those of his predecessor and Brazil great Pele at the South American federation's museum.
This is Argentina's 6th final and their second shot at the trophy in the last two attempts. They were beaten by Germany in the 2014 final.
Scenes from the champion team's homecoming...
Lionel Messi drew level with Diego Maradona's number of World Cup goals and appearances on Saturday, but the current No. 10 knows that only winning the trophy at long last will earn him the same eternal love of his fellow Argentines.
Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, who has won the award five times, did not receive a nomination for the first time in 20 years.
Zhang Jiao, after realising her dream of witnessing Argentina soccer great Lionel Messi lift the World Cup every match he plays from now on is "precious".
Ronaldo admitted that both of them changed the history of football and urged his fans to not hate on Messi.
Lionel Messi surpassed the 100-goals mark for World Cup champions Argentina on Tuesday by scoring a hat-trick in their 7-0 friendly win over Curacao.
Lionel Messi's passionate performances at the Qatar World Cup are earning him oodles of love from Argentines, but their old favouritism for Diego Maradona may resurface unless he brings home the trophy on his final attempt.
Inspired by the iconic trophy lift of cricket captain Rohit Sharma during the 2024 T20I World Cup in June, the chess players replicated the gesture.
Saudi Arabia will host the men's soccer World Cup in 2034 while the 2030 edition will be held in Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with one-off matches in three South American countries, world soccer's governing body FIFA confirmed on Wednesday.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni would love to see the superstar -- who is one of only six players to compete in five World Cups -- suit up for the next World Cup.
Indian fans wait for Messi's '2011 Tendulkar moment'
Eight years is a long time in the life of an athlete. But just like Messi, Di Maria has preserved and persisted towards his childhood dream, points out Deepti Patwardhan.
Argentine film director Virna Molina, wearing World Cup winner Lionel Messi's jersey No 10, receives the trophy and certificate for winning the Golden Royal Bengal Tiger award for Best Director at the Kolkata International Film Festival.
Global sales of soccer gear were up more than 700% for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar versus the 2018 World Cup in Russia across the Fanatics network of online stores.
Ronaldo had won his first Ballon d'Or in 2008 while he was playing for Manchester United and still holds the record of the last Premier League player to claim the top prize. Messi won his first in 2009 and was nominated for 16 years.
The Aston Villa 'keeper saved three penalties in the 2021 Copa America semi-final and Argentina went on to lift the trophy. Now he's stopped two more in a World Cup quarter-final and this could just be a good omen for Messi!
In total, he has scored 788 career goals.
Captain Lionel Messi inspired Argentina to an emphatic 3-0 victory against Italy in a heavyweight clash billed as the 'Finalissima' in London on Wednesday.
Messi's Instagram post with the Copa America trophy has become the platform's most-liked sports photograph.
With immense pressure on him to match the late great Diego Maradona and send the trophy back to Buenos Aires, Lionel Messi has lit up the Qatar tournament while others in the superstar stratum - Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo - have underwhelmed and gone home.
Argentina dominated the opening stages and earned the penalty when Di Maria was fouled by Ousmane Dembele, with Messi sending France keeper Hugo Lloris the wrong way to move to the top of the goalscoring charts in Qatar.
Many flocked to Buenos Aires's tattoo parlors to commission designs depicting Lionel Messi.
Copa American champions Argentina are unbeaten in 35 games and if this is to be Messi's final World Cup, they are in the form to deliver the title.
Two of the most intimidating strikers in world football, Argentina's 35-year-old Lionel Messi and Poland's 34-year-old Robert Lewandowski, line up against each other on Wednesday with a last 16 place at stake in the World Cup.
"I want to continue playing as a World Cup champion."
The Argentine forward's glittering resume has one major omission -- a World Cup winner's medal.
How expensive was this 'picture of the century'?
Lionel Messi kept his dream of winning his first World Cup alive by rifling in the opening goal in Saturday's 2-0 victory over Mexico in World Cup Group C, proving he was far from done in the tournament.
Argentina came out on top over France in the FIFA World Cup 2022 final at Lusail by 4-2 on penalties after both teams finished 3-3 at extra time.
FIFA is set to confirm the hosts of the 2030 and 2034 men's World Cups on Wednesday, with a three-continent, six-nation bid led by Morocco, Spain and Portugal to be awarded the former and the latter going to Saudi Arabia.
"The people who have seen Pele, Alfredo Di Stefano or Diego Maradona. The opinions are sentimental, but the other side, if he (Messi) wouldn't have won the World Cup, the opinion and my opinion wouldn't change."
"Neymar and Messi are unique: they see and do things nobody else sees or can do. A great player must know and understand who he plays with, your teammates enrich your qualities."
The 35-year-old forward confirmed this would be his last World Cup
A major surprise in the 2024 Google search trends was the absence of iconic names like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, M S Dhoni, and Virat Kohli from the list of the top 10 most-searched athletes.
Galtier said all other players returned as per the schedule and will be available for Wednesday's game, including France striker Kylian Mbappe.
Argentina won a record 16th Copa America title by beating Colombia 1-0 thanks to an extra-time goal from substitute Lautaro Martinez.
A new chapter in the celebrated rivalry between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi will unfurl on Thursday when they meet in an exhibition match as the Portugal forward gears up for his first game in Saudi Arabia since joining Al Nassr.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances