Lionel Messi suffers unwelcome first in FIFA World Cup final as Spain stuns Argentine icon | Football News
Lionel Messi The legendary striker had a rare rest day during Argentina’s 2026 World Cup final loss to Spain, where for the first time in his World Cup career the legendary striker failed to create any chances for his teammates. The statistic underlined a disciplined defensive display from Spain as Luis de la Fuente’s side neutralized Argentina’s biggest attacking threat in extra time at MetLife Stadium to win 1-0. Messi is making his 34th World Cup appearance in six tournaments, having never started before fifa world cup Did not create at least one chance for his teammates during the game. This remarkable run ended in the final, with Spain successfully denying him the space and time to define his international career. The 39-year-old failed to recreate the glorious moment that led Argentina to a second successive World Cup final. Twenty years after his World Cup debut, Messi saw his two-time world title run come to an end as Spain claimed its second World Cup title. Spain’s plan to contain the Argentine captain worked almost perfectly. Messi only touched the ball 15 times in the first half and 54 times in the whole game, rarely receiving the ball in dangerous areas. His passing combinations failed to work and he never found himself able to seriously threaten Spain’s defence. After the game, Spain coach Luis de la Fuente admitted that stopping Messi was the team’s primary goal. “The first thought was to stop Messi,” he said. Spain dominated much of the game, finishing with a 20-2 shot advantage, completing 845 passes to Argentina’s 433. In the last 37 seconds of the second quarter of overtime, Nico Williams scored with a header, and Ferran Torres finally shot the ball into the goal. The victory gave Spain its first World Cup title since 2010 and extended Spain’s unbeaten run in international competition to a European record 38 games. For Messi, the defeat marked a disappointing end to an otherwise excellent campaign. The Argentina captain led his country back to the World Cup finals with eight goals and four assists, while becoming the first player to start three World Cup finals. He also finished the World Cup with 125 international goals, second only to cristiano ronaldo146 and played in a record 34 World Cups. After the final whistle, an emotional Messi was consoled by several Spanish players as he walked past a guard of honor for the newly crowned champions as Argentina collected their runners-up medal. As Spain celebrated the trophy, Messi left the field wearing a silver medal, his hopes of leading Argentina to back-to-back World Cups ended by a Spanish side that had succeeded when all its other opponents had failed, denying one of football’s greatest creators a chance.
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