DOHA
\nLegendary, greatest, immortal: News media across the planet ran out of superlatives after Lionel Messi led Argentina to victory in one of the most dramatic World Cup finals ever.
\nThe thrilling penalty-shootout win over France gave La Albiceleste their first World Cup since national hero Diego Maradona guided them to the 1986 title.
\nAnd it sparked an explosion of joy in Argentina, where the media saluted the nation\u2019s latest generation of World Cup heroes, and their talisman Messi.
\nImages of him holding the trophy aloft and the team\u2019s celebrations adorned news websites and social media feeds in Argentina.
\nMessi\u2019s Argentina had won \u201cthe greatest final in history\u201d, said the daily La Nacion, while Clarin described it as an \u201cunforgettable\u201d match.
\nThe sports daily Ole\u2019s homepage was splashed with \u201cWe are world champions!\u201d
\nThe final was billed as a titanic showdown between Messi and French superstar Kylian Mbappe, and it did not disappoint the neutrals.
\nWhile Messi scored from the spot twice to put Argentina in the lead, Mbappe inspired the French fightback with a hat-trick to take the final to penalties.
\n\u201cHead held high,\u201d read the headline on the front page of French sports daily L\u2019Equipe, the text imposed on an image of Mbappe holding his Golden Boot prize as he walked past the World Cup trophy.
\n\u201cLegendary,\u201d said the front page of the daily Liberation, with photos of both Messi and Mbappe, while Le Figaro described the French star\u2019s efforts as \u201cheroic\u201d.
\nMessi had cemented his place long ago among the greatest of all time, but the football world was abuzz ahead of the final with the prospect of the fleet-footed magician crowning his glittering career with the World Cup \u2013 the one major trophy he had never won.
\nAnd with Argentina\u2019s win on Sunday, the debate about his stature in the history of the sport was settled for most.
\nIn Britain, The Times said on its front page that Messi had won the \u201cbattle of modern maestros in greatest final\u201d. On the front page of its sports section, it described him as, simply, \u201cThe Greatest\u201d.
\nThe Mirror called him the GOAT \u2013 \u201cgreatest of all time\u201d \u2013 while The Sun said the World Cup was \u201cIn the Hand of God\u201d, a cheeky reference to Maradona\u2019s infamous goal against England in the 1986 tournament.
\nIn Germany, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung also played on that reference with the headline \u201cThe foot of God\u201d for Messi.
\nIt called the Argentina-France showdown \u201cthe most exciting final\u201d in World Cup history, while the daily Tagesspiegel said it showcased \u201ctwo exceptional talents\u201d.
\nEven in Brazil \u2013 an intense rival \u2013 the O Globo newspaper paid tribute to Messi, saying football had \u201cpaid its debt\u201d to its biggest star.
\nIn the United States, which will host the next World Cup with Canada and Mexico, a report in The Washington Post said Messi was finally rewarded in an \u201cimmortal\u201d final.
\nSpain\u2019s El Pais newspaper said Messi had been \u201ccrowned in the final of finals\u201d.
\nAnd in Asia, where Messi has legions of fans, Indian newspaper The Hindu said his Argentina team had kept their \u201cdate with destiny\u201d, while South Korean daily HankookIlbo called him a \u201cgod of football\u201d.
\nMessi \u2018deserved\u2019 to win: Pele
\nBrazilian legend Pele said Lionel Messi \u201cdeserved\u201d to be a World Cup winner after Argentina defeated France in a penalty shootout in Sunday\u2019s final.
\n\u201cToday, football continues to tell its story, as always, in an enthralling way. Messi winning his first World Cup, as his trajectory deserved,\u201d Pele, a three-time World Cup champion, wrote on Instagram.
\nPele also hailed French striker KylianMbappe who scored a hat-trick in the final which had ended 3-3 after extra-time before coolly slotting in a penalty in the shootout.
\n\u201cMy dear friend, Mbappe, scoring four goals in a final. What a gift it was to watch this spectacle to the future of our sport.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
DOHA Legendary, greatest, immortal: News media across the planet ran out of superlatives after Lionel Messi led Argentina to victory in one of the most dramatic World Cup finals ever. The thrilling penalty-shootout win over France gave La Albiceleste their first World Cup since national hero Diego Maradona guided them to the 1986 title. And […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":302319,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-302291","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n