Lionel Messi is hailed as 'the foot of God' by foreign papers
Maradoha! Lionel Messi is hailed as ‘the foot of God’ by foreign papers as Argentina talisman emulates fellow icon Diego Maradona by captaining their country to World Cup glory in the ‘best final ever’
- Argentina beat France on penalties to win the World Cup in Qatar on Sunday
- Papers from around the world have heaped praise on Argentina’s Lionel Messi
- One said Messi has the foot of god and that he broke Argentina’s 36-year curse
- Meanwhile, some papers have said that the future of football belongs to Mbappe
- Click here for the latest World Cup 2022 news, fixtures, live action and results
Lionel Messi made history on Sunday afternoon by leading Argentina to World Cup glory, beating defending champions France 4-2 on penalties after a pulsating 3-3 draw.
As a result, Messi achieved his dream of winning the showpiece tournament and delivered his country their first World Cup trophy since Diego Maradona captained Argentina to victory in the 1986 edition in Mexico.
Therefore, the press from around the world has heaped praise on the 35-year-old. One news outlet said Messi had the foot of god and that he broke Argentina’s 36-year curse.
Another described Messi as a ‘magician’, while some claimed that the future belongs to France striker Kylian Mbappe. So, with that in mind, Sportsmail have rounded up the front pages from across the world.
Dutch newspaper Sportwereld described Messi as the ‘magician from Rosario’. They also said Messi’s World Cup triumph has seen him step out from the shadow of Argentina’s ‘other legend, Diego Maradona’.
Italian news outlet Corriere dello Sport used the headline ‘Maradoha’ and described the game between Argentina and France as a ‘wonderful final’. However, they said ‘Kylian Mbappe hat-trick was not enough for Didier Deschamps’.
They went on to say that Messi had ‘entered the history books’ after scoring twice during the game and quote the 35-year-old saying: ‘I made my dream come true, but I won’t stop’.
Tuttosport ran the following headline across the front page of their paper: ‘Football, I love you!’. They went on to describe the 2022 final as an ‘epic match’ and heaped praise on Messi for ‘following in the footsteps of Maradona and leading Argentina to their third World Cup’.
La Gazzetta dello Sport were very complimentary of Messi and his side. They ran the headline ‘Messi, the foot of God’ across their front page and described the showdown between Argentina and France as the ‘best final ever’.
They also said that curse on Argentina has finally been lifted after 36 following Maradona’s triumph at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.
However, they did say that Deschamps’ side ‘were not enough’ and that Mbappe being ‘top scorer’ was never going to get them over the line. Although, they did give the two no.10’s a 10/10 rating and say the ‘future belongs to Mbappe.
Meanwhile, AS ran the headline ‘In the sky’ with a picture of Messi on the shoulders of Sergio Aguero as Argentina celebrated their victory over France. Marca also stated that Messi was ‘heavenly’ following his performance in the final.
Angel Di Maria was also praised by the Italian press for his performance against France on Sunday.
La Gazzetta dello Sport heaped praise on the 34-year-old for his performances in Qatar but questioned whether he could recreate the same form for Juventus.
They said Di Maria – who scored in the 36th minute of the game – was ‘as decisive as Messi’. However, they did follow that up by saying ‘he went off because he had no autonomy, and Argentina trembled.’
The Italian news outlet also questioned Di Maria’s domestic form, saying: ‘when will we see him like this again at Juventus?’.
While Tuttosport praised Di Maria for being a big occasion player. They said: ‘The man of the finals strikes again, as with Nigeria, as with Brazil, as with Italy’.
Corriere dello Sport shared the same opinion, writing: ‘You see him over there, on the sideline, he seemed far away, even physically from the game. Instead, as soon as he could, he mauled his prey with the same ferocity as the hawks in Doha.’
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