Top seed Jannik Sinner brushes aside fellow-Italian Lorenzo Sonego, while sixth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas falls to Brazilian qualifier Thiago Monteiro
sports2 days ago
Algerian football fan Abdul Haq was among the luckiest people on the planet that had the ticket for the World Cup final at Lusail Iconic Stadium on Sunday.
In what was the greatest final ever seen in a World Cup, Argentina won their third World Cup, beating France 4-2 on penalties after the engrossing battle ended in a 3-3 draw.
Argentina’s first World Cup victory since 1986 also ended Lionel Messi’s wait to win the only trophy that was missing from his cabinet.
Messi played a big role in Argentina’s victory in the final, scoring two goals and converting the first penalty in the shootout.
He also had a hand in Angel Di Maria’s goal in the first half.
Messi ended the tournament with seven goals and five assists as well as the player of the tournament award.
And Abdul, a die-hard fan of Portuguese icon Cristiano Ronaldo, admitted Messi has now cemented his place as the greatest player of all time.
“Today Messi showed the whole world that he is the best. He is better than Ronaldo,” Abdul told this reporter.
“I have been a huge Ronaldo fan and I have spent many years hating Messi. But today I have to admit that Messi has ended the GOAT (GREATEST OF ALL TIME) debate.
“Today, he showed that he is the best and I don’t love him. I am not saying because Argentina won the World Cup. It’s because how Messi played in this final and in the whole tournament. He deserved to win this.”
Osama, Abdul’s friend, said they were incredibly lucky to have witnessed a football classic.
“I love football and I love Messi. He has completed his football story today. And it’s a beautiful story,” Osama said.
But the two friends also admitted that football lovers should learn to appreciate both Messi and Ronaldo for what they have achieved in the sport.
“They both have played at the top level for so many years. Nobody saw this kind of dominance before. I don’t think we will ever see that again,” Abdul said.
“Of course, (Kylian) Mbappe is a great player and he proved that again with three goals in the final. But I don’t think he will ever match the consistency of Ronaldo and Messi.”
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