QATAR (Dec. 19, 2022) -
Doha had a hard time recovering from the World Cup final yesterday. The Argentinian fans continued to celebrate in the frenzy of the match, and they did not miss the city's international airport as well, with intense singing of "Muchachos" – the tournament song of the Albiceleste fans, and Argentina's new unofficial anthem.
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Celebrations lasted through the night. Broadcasts to Israel have ended, but the streets of Qatar have only just begun celebrating. Hundreds of thousands of fans poured into the streets of Lusail, for the big party that was planned. Police cleared the roads, which were packed with bands, magicians, clowns, drummers, stilt walkers, bikers, and more. Anything imaginable was there at this greatest party anyone could produce.
The cherry on the top was the winning team: the players left the field in a bus wrapped in Argentinian flags, standing on the roof, holding the trophy and waving to the crowds.
Usually, the victory lap with the trophy is held only when coming home. But Qatar – just like with the cloak placed on Messi, and just like every other moment during the World Cup – did what they wanted. The Argentineans cooperated and drove the fans crazy, against the backdrop of a grandiose display of fireworks over the bay.
It was a glorious ending to a magnificent game that everyone who was in the stadium (and even those who just watched it on television) will never forget. A grand finale that had it all: drama and tragedy, happy and sad, and all this in a script that exceeded all imagination, while, inevitably, as fairy tales go, the best man won.
Yes, Kylian Mbappé gave the best game of his life. He scored a hat trick and finally proved that he belongs among the greatest. Agreed that the refereeing was more supportive towards the Argentines. And despite that – Argentina deserved to win, and Messi crowned himself king of the world, as everyone hoped he would.
A little more of the magic
Argentina and France have already flown home, together with their swarms of fans, journalists, interested parties, and everyone else who played a part in the World Cup. The players (except the English players, where the league resumes next week) went on a short break and will return to play only at the start of the new year.
The two great heroes of the tournament and the final, Messi and Mbappé, will meet again in Paris – this time as partners in their Qatari sponsor's next effort, to bring the Champions League to its protégé, Paris Saint-Germain. En route, they will play in different stadiums in Toulouse and Auxerre, as far away as possible from the record position they shared only two days ago.
Qatar, along with Argentina, is the greatest winner of this World Cup. It has proven that it is not only capable of hosting the biggest event in the world, but it can also do it with great success.
And yet, Qatar is wrong if it thinks that the World Cup will dramatically change its image around the world. It didn't work for Russia after the World Cup in 2018 – and it won't work now either, because Qatar will go back to being the closed-up and conservative country it has always been.
But none of this is of any interest to Argentina, which is now reveling in its mammoth achievement that Messi and his buddies have arranged for it. This is pure joy, so worthy of a country that truly loves football and knows how to celebrate it in the most authentic way possible.
Argentina will come to the next World Cup in 2026 as the cup holder. Messi did announce that he will continue playing for the national team, but it is not guaranteed that he will be there. The organizers – a political triangle of the USA, Canada, and Mexico – are most definitely praying that this will happen so that they can also bask in a little more of the magic that has enveloped Qatar in the last month, and spread through the entire world.
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