'Maradona encouraged us from heaven,' Lionel Messi honors Argentine legend
Star striker Lionel Messi has been all smiles after leading Argentina to a historic FIFA World Cup title. In a recent Instagram post, he paid tribute to Argentine legend Diego Maradona, who passed away in November 2020. Under the latter, Argentina won the 1986 FIFA World Cup. Paying tribute to him, Messi, in his post, stated that "Maradona encouraged us from heaven".
Here is what Messi wrote
"This Cup we got is also from all those who did not make it in the previous World Cups we played, like in 2014 in Brazil, where they all deserved it for how they fought until the same final, worked hard, and wanted," wrote Messi. "And we deserved it even in that damn ending. It's also from Diego who encouraged us from heaven."
A look at his post
Argentina defeated France in the final
Messi converted a penalty in the 23rd minute after Ousmane Dembele's foul on Angel Di Maria. Di Maria extended their lead with an incredible goal (36'). Mbappe pulled one back after halftime and netted the equalizer within 97 seconds. Both Messi (108') and Mbappe (118') scored once each in extra time. Argentina then prevailed 4-2 in the penalty shootout.
Third World Cup honor for Argentina
Argentina won their first World Cup title in 36 years. They also clinched the honor in 1978 and 1986. Only Italy (44 from 1938 to 1982) have ever had a longer gap between winning two World Cups.
A second Golden Ball award
Messi won his second Golden Ball award, having been a recipient of it in the 2014 edition. As per Squawka, he is the first player to win multiple Player of the Tournament awards. Messi netted seven goals, with four of those from penalties. He had 18 shots on target and enjoyed a shot accuracy of 62.07. Messi created a whopping 21 chances (three assists).
