In the aftermath of Argentina's victory in the World Cup final against France, newspapers around the world have, on Monday, December 19, their eyes fixed on the performance of the two men in this final: Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé.
Lionel Messi, who allowed his Albiceleste team to win their third world crown, "planted his flag at the top of Everest", greets the British daily The Times.
By scoring two goals, the guide of the Argentine team "now ranks among the greatest of all sports".
"A hyphen with Maradona"
"Eternal glory to Messi", headlines the Argentinian sports daily Olé, reflecting the general feeling in Argentina.
A whole people had been waiting for almost twenty years for the coronation of their famous number 10, who joined Diego Maradona in the Pantheon of football gods.
LA TAPA QUE SOÑAMOS HACER TODA LA VIDA ❤️
¡ARGENTINA CAMPEÓN DE MUNDO!
🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/7U9M29JeVl
— Diario Olé (@DiarioOle) December 19, 2022
Like several other headlines in the international press, Gazzetta dello Sport are convinced that Messi is 'a hyphen with Maradona'.
Because "Messi is a genius in an ordinary body, or rather in a body that has nothing athletic about it".
But "in football, this physique can be enough if you have the head of an artist and the foot of God", adds the Italian newspaper, under a photo of a Messi who exults with joy.
"Like Diego Maradona in his time, the idol of the stadiums lived up to his reputation on Sunday, more than ever the pride of an entire people", greets the French daily Le Figaro, in praise of " breathtaking Messi".
"The best player of the last 50 years"
At 35, Messi "led Argentina to the top with a maradonian performance", abounds the Spanish sports newspaper Marca.
"The 10 reaches glory" after "a life of frustration and mutual misunderstanding between him and his country, with two farewells from the national team", underlines the Spanish title El Pais.
Even in Brazil, Albiceleste's great rival, the victory of the Argentine "brothers" and the coronation of Messi, "the best" who "greatly deserved to lift the cup", were sportingly mentioned, according to the daily O Globo.
>> To read also: Lionel Messi finally adored to his fair measure
"The 2022 World Cup puts an end to the Messi x CR7 (Cristiano Ronaldo) debate and the Argentinian is the best player of the last 50 years", headlines the Brazilian news site Uol, without however daring to compare the star to "King" Pelé .
For the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, "Lionel Messi creates an eternal work" by winning "the first title of world champion in a white and blue cathedral".
Lionel Messi finally world champion: "a major event in the history of the game which brings this absolute artist closer to immortality", congratulates the French sports daily l'Équipe, which just regrets that Lionel Messi did not "choose a other day".
Mbappé "for the history books" of football
On its front page, the French title Liberation salutes the "Legendaries" Messi and Mbappé equally, sharing its front page equally between the two rivals in Doha but teammates at PSG.
Unsurprisingly, the team dwells on "the three goals in the final by an incredible Kylian Mbappé, who carried his guts" and to which the presentation of the Golden Boot for the event's top scorer (8 goals) "n didn't snatch a smile".
“Heads up”, here is the front page of L’Équipe newspaper for Monday, December 19, 2022. pic.twitter.com/LUHEJGCYZu
– THE TEAM (@lequipe) December 18, 2022
But the Gazzetta dello sports also salutes "Mbappé, a phenomenon unlike anyone" while the Süddeutsche Zeitung pays tribute to the Frenchman and his "individual performance for the history books of football".
"The Frenchman achieves a hat-trick and equalizes twice in a lost match" in advance, congratulates El Pais.
A match "with unreal suspense"
However, "Kylian Mbappé's quest to be considered the best has just been delayed", seems to regret the New York Times.
"What a final!" Enthuses the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, which speaks of a "crazy evening" for the two teams who went through "heaven and hell".
"Unforgettable final", "delirium", "ecstasy", "the best final of all time", exclaims the Argentine press, as well as the French press which is enthusiastic about this "final in apotheosis", a "match with unreal suspense" or "completely crazy", according to Le Monde.
"One of those heroic matches that crosses time", underlines the Team, but also "one of those stabs that cross the heart".
With AFP
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