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Argentinian media have criticised FIFA over their ‘almost insulting’ decision not to give Lionel Messi the World Cup Golden Ball award.
Messi’s quest to win a second World Cup trophy fell agonisingly short with Argentina losing 1-0 to Spain in Sunday’s final.
Argentina were second best for the entirety of the match, failing to have a single shot on goal in normal time, but retreated even further following Enzo Fernandez’s late red card.
Lionel Scaloni’s side were playing for penalties after going down to ten men but Ferran Torres scored an extra-time winner to give Spain their second World Cup trophy.
As well as winning their first World Cup since 2010, Spain cleaned up at the medal ceremony, with Rodri, Pau Cubarsi and Unai Simon all winning individual awards.
Rodri was handed the Golden Ball award for the best player at the tournament after captaining Spain to World Cup glory.
But TyC Sports journalist Antonio Serpa believe FIFA showed a ‘complete lack of sensitivity’ by not giving the award to Messi.
Messi was named the second-best player of the tournament after scoring eight goals and providing four assists in what will almost certainly be his last World Cup.
‘Giving the award to Rodri is almost an insult, it shows a complete lack of sensitivity,’ Serpa told Argentinian TV channel TyC Sports.
‘Not because the Spaniard is a bad player, but simply because Lionel Messi was the heart and soul of Argentina and the World Cup.
‘He graced the pitches with his brilliance and tears at 39, filling the nets with goals and the stadiums with fans of every nationality who came to see this phenomenon of all time in person.
‘If the criteria is to give awards to the winners, then Infantino and his team need to be told that football is won with goals, not passes.
‘Rodri didn’t just fail to score a goal in this World Cup: he made two billion passes and not a single one resulted in an assist.’
France superstar Kylian Mbappe was named the third-best player of the World Cup after winning the Golden Boot award with ten goals across the tournament.
Two of Mbappe’s goals came in France’s third-place play-off defeat to England, a game which is seen as nothing more than a glorified friendly by many pundits and fans.
As a result Wayne Rooney and Alan Shearer both urged FIFA to reconsider their rules around the Golden Boot race at forthcoming World Cups.
‘I was just looking at yesterday’s game the way it was played like a testimonial,’ Shearer told the BBC before the World Cup final.
‘France are out and Mbappe has scored his two goals. France are out. Lionel Messi is playing in a World Cup final against a Spain team that have only conceded one goal and that is a lot more difficult.’
Rooney added: ‘I just think France got knocked out of the tournament and had the third and fourth play-off game.
‘Listen, I don’t (think those goals should count). They do obviously but I think that’s very unfair on Messi.’
Rodri’s teammates Cubarsi and Simon took home the FIFA Young Player and Golden Glove awards respectively after Spain’s World Cup win.
Legendary striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic was among those to heap praise on Messi after Argentina’s run to the World Cup final.
‘We have enjoyed him during this World Cup,’ he said on FOX Sports. ‘I know he’s sad he didn’t win the World Cup, but he had an amazing World Cup.
‘He kept this team alive. He did some amazing stuff. He had moments where he was human. He had moments where he wasn’t human.’
Messi’s performances throughout the tournament have prompted renewed debate over FIFA’s individual awards after Rodri was named the competition’s best player despite the Argentine’s eight goals and four assists.
The Argentina captain has now broken his silence on the defeat, admitting the ‘pain is immense’ while also congratulating Spain on becoming world champions…
Lionel Messi breaks silence on ‘immense pain’ of Argentina World Cup final loss
Lionel Messi has posted an emotional message after Argentina’s World Cup final loss to Spain, speaking of the ‘immense pain’ he feels in defeat.
The 39-year-old was looking to lead his country to back-to-back World Cup triumphs after they beat France in the final four years ago in Qatar.
They fell just short though after a strange final in New Jersey which Spain totally dominated but could not kill off.
Argentina were distant second best and offered almost no threat at all going forward, but the game was goalless after 90 minutes and it went to extra-time.
Ferran Torres finally made the breakthrough on 106 minutes and that was enough for Spain to be world champions, with Argentina finishing the match without a single shot on target in 120 minutes.
The defending champions rarely looked convincing in the knockout stages as they scraped past Cape Verde, Egypt, Switzerland and England, but they kept winning and it looked like they might pull off another gutsy, narrow victory against Spain.
It wasn’t to be, though, and what will surely be Messi’s last World Cup outing, ended in disappointment.
He did, though, take a moment to congratulate the champions, which was not a sentiment the Argentina team seemed to share after the match.
The Inter Miami forward posted on Instagram on Monday: ‘The pain is immense, and this wound will take time to heal.
‘But I also hold onto all the good things… The matches we turned around by giving it our all—moments that will remain in our memories forever—and the support of an entire country which, combined with this group’s hard work and effort, brought us back among the world’s elite once again. It is hard to fully appreciate our achievement right now, but this group reached two consecutive World Cup finals.
‘Thank you from the bottom of my heart for every greeting and message. Once again, we managed to unite as a country and stand together, sharing the immense pride of being Argentine.
‘I also want to congratulate Spain on winning the championship.’
Messi has said this will be his last World Cup, although he also said that in 2022, so anything is still possible.
The Barcelona legend has not said he is retiring from international football yet and could go on to play in the Copa America again in two years’ time.
After eight goals and four assists in the World Cup this summer, Argentina will be happy to have him if he decides to continue.
