goon Really? Messi has probably been the best player in the world this season before the WC as well.

From playing two world cups in his prime without scoring a knockout goal to doing this at 35:

Clrnc the most insane butterfly effect ever.

Qwiss

QuincyAbeyie don't know about best in the world but yeah, I applied a big slice of PSG/Ligue 1 tax on his revival this season.

Funny how Argentina never looked this good with prime Messi, Di Maria, Aguero, Dybala, Higuain etc. They had some god awful managers in that time though.

Clrnc looks a super talent. Benfica will be dreaming of dollar signs tonight.

goon They always had terrible defences and keepers during those time.

I mean, Romero, Abondanzieri etc + absolutely poverty fullbacks. These days they could afford to have 50m Martinez on the bench, rotate Acuna/Tagliafico and Molina/Montiel etc. Scaloni deserves huge credit too. That game plan in the first half to concentrate all their entire attack on the right side only to constantly thread balls through to Di Maria for a Kounde 1v1 was superb.

Being a final, that was probably the greatest game of all time. What an epic. Messi always felt destined to win and the contrast between his and Ronaldo's contributions in this tournament couldn't have been more stark.

Feel for Mbappe though. Joins Hurst as a hattrick scorer in a final and one of only a handful to score in 2 finals. Great hit for the 2nd goal.

Can't help feeling happy for Martinez too. A little over 3 years ago he was our 3rd choice. At the time it felt wrong backing Leno, and I know we all now love Ramsdale but it was still the wrong call.

QuincyAbeyie

Didn't Jairzinho score in every round of the WC?

daredevil Not in the round of 16.

Clrnc Ramsdale is a good character too Tbf, just look at how he trolls away fans.

Whether he’s quite as good at penalties or would have the gall to chuck the ball away is another matter.

Thinking about the team of tourney. Could include
Messi, Mbappe, Griezmann
Modric, Arambat, Ounahi, Enzo
Garviol, Hakimi, Acuna
Emi

Tchouameni, Saka, Bellingham honorable mention.

Mirth true but I was mostly referring to their performances. For the insane levels of talent they had they always looked atrocious. Even in 2014. Clrnc is right though, this side has a much better spread of talent. No point having 8 very good forwards when only 2 of them get picked. England have a similar problem at the moment.

Incredible tournament, has to be one of the best World Cups I've watched. Having it mid season has made a big difference imo. The players have a lot more energy and the games were a lot more intense. I think going forward the mid season world cup needs to be considered. Usually after a long hard season most players are dead on their feet.

Thought Argentina were far better than France for most of the game, in midfield France were completely overrun. Argentina always looked like they could create chances and did create a fair few.

Fitting for Messi to win this way, his career is now complete and can finally put aside any doubts about him being there with all time greats. He's had a complicated relationship with the national team and fans, have felt in recent years that isn't the case. Was outstanding and driving force behind Argentina this tournament.

Shout out to Mbappe, lots of talk about him in recent months but the guy is ready to take over. This guy still has another 3 World cups in him, next two he will be at his absolute peak imo. Wonder if Zidane takes over, for the talent that country has they should be playing a lot better football imo! Can't argue with Deschamps record though.