REMEMBER THE GREATEST goal ever scored in a World Cup final?
It happened just a few hours ago.
No judgement here if you’ve already forgotten about it.
The stupefying nature of events from the 80th minute onwards in a most enthralling showpiece were enough to drain anyone of their senses and sensibilities.
Argentina are the world champions and Lionel Messi has his crowning glory.
That the triumph has come in arguably the greatest final of all time, with some of the most dramatic, memorable moments littered within it, only adds to the allure of his legacy.
It was a breathless, beautiful and headache-inducing final.
But as the game croaked towards the final 10 minutes it didn’t feel as though that was the destiny, instead, all that needed to be written were the final, glorious eulogies for Messi and his rightful place atop the pantheon.
The madness of Kylian Mbappe’s two goals in 60 seconds then helped elevate this occasion to a whole other dimension.
Modern football is smothered by hyperbole (ahem, see above) but France and Argentina genuinely served up a sporting classic that should be treasured and talked about for generations.
But what came before shouldn’t be forgotten.
Not least the goal that was being hailed by some – Liam Brady among them – as the greatest ever scored in a final.
Angel Di Maria scored it, by the way.
It came in the 36th minute, and it all began with a dreadful loose ball. There were a couple of hoofed clearances thrown in for good measure and some of the sharpest, slickest one-touch passing you are ever likely to see in a contest that had as much riding on it as this.
So, where to start?
Cristian Romero receives the ball and plays a loose pass out to Nahuel Molina who cannot keep it in play. Theo Hernandez’s quick throw in to Mbappe almost sees him bear down on goal after a delightful touch around Romero, but Molina has read the danger and recovers with a pass back to Emiliano Martinez.
Cue the first hoof.
The Argentina goalkeeper – who is almost certainly the first former Oxford United, Sheffield Wednesday, Rotherham United, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Getafe and Reading loanee to go on and win the World Cup – launches the ball clear.
This is when the beauty can be found in the beast that was Argentina during the last month.
After Dayot Upamencano controls the ball from the sky, Julian Alvarez is hunting him down before he can take a relaxing second touch and keep France in possession.
Instead, he panics and clears long aimlessly.
And so begins a beguiling 10 seconds of Total Football: The Argentinean Way.
Molina, who has scurried back into position at right full, sees Upamencano’s ball come towards him and has already decided that a first-time pass into the feet of Alexis Mac Allister is the right decision.
The Brighton midfielder has already checked over his shoulder to know that Aurielen Tchouameni is closing him down from behind and that Antoine Griezmann is ready to pounce only a few feet in front.
He’s already made his choice, clipping a sublime around-the-corner pass to Messi that takes both French players out of the game.
Messi slows things down for just a second. But the reasoning is simple. Raphael Varane has committed to entering the Argentina half to try and win the ball but has hesitated once seemingly realising who has collected possession.
Messi’s control is deft and he waits just long enough to release his lay off that Kylian Mbappe is tempted to press.
That creates space for Alvarez on the left and his first-time through ball is a simple one for Mac Allister, the midfielder continuing his involvement by refusing to sit and admire his earlier piece of skill and running off the shoulder of Tchouameni.
With Varane in no-man’s land, Jules Kounde tries desperately to cover from right back, leaving Di Maria free on the left.
All Mac Allister has to do now is play the perfect through ball. While on the run. Having burst 50 yards from inside your own half. With one man hounding him down from the side and another from behind. In a World Cup final.
He made it look easy, angling his pass from just outside the 18-yard box across the penalty spot.
It was delicate enough to take Kounde and the covering Tchouameni out of the game while also firm enough to not be overhit into the welcoming embrace of goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
He flung himself at Di Maria from the edge of the six-yard box but the finish was perfect.
But it needed a pass equal in its execution and that is what Mac Allister provided. Brighton’s next club game is away to Charlton Athletic in the EFL Cup on Wednesday, at which point he should still be celebrating at home in Santa Rose, with maybe a couple of stops off to see distant relatives on these shores in Donabate and Cushendall before he returns to his club.
Five Argentina players were involved in the move for that second goal. There were seven touches and only Messi took more than one to create a masterpiece that will immortalise these Argentina players.
All of their footballing stories now have its defining act.
They are Gods for a sporting nation that will worship their achievement.
The nature of this final means everyone who witnessed it will also feel a sense of belonging to the occasion, cherishing a game of football that delivered all of the emotions that define life itself, and make it worth living.
