The Hurry Kane - A Football Blog

Lionel Messi has finally won the World Cup. Is the GOAT debate over? (Getty Images) As Gonzalo Montiel slotted home past Hugo Lloris, shades of blue and white erupted across the Lusail Stadium. Messi sank into the ground in joy, engulfed by his teammates. He had finally done it. After a long, glittering career, he had finally filled that one gaping hole in his star-studded CV, one that had always left him lagging behind in the debate with Pele and Diego Maradona to be the greatest footballer of all time. And now, this singular global triumph would surely, almost inarguably, elevate him above these two greats. In the hours after the Argentinian win, pictures and videos of the Argentinian captain lifting the coveted trophy spread all across social media, accompanied with captions like "Messi has completed football." It was almost like a fairy tale that had reached its happy ending. Having emerged over the years as a product of armchair analysts' whataboutism, the lack of a ...

Croatian players celebrate winning the shootout after Brazil's Marquinhos misses his penalty. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner) It's deep into extra time in Croatia's game against Brazil. Well, one minute of added time in the first fifteen minutes of extra time, to be exact. Thirty seconds before the referee blows the whistle, Neymar weaves through the Croatian defence with a couple of silky one-twos and finds himself on the edge of the six-yard box. He dances past Livakovic, the Croatian goalkeeper, and blasts a thundering shot into the roof of the net from the narrowest of angles. Brazil celebrate emphatically, their job almost done. But with Brozovic skying a gilt-edged chance just minutes earlier, the game wasn't over yet. Croatia knew exactly what they had to do. For all of Brazil's flamboyance and skill up front, their defence had been suspect from the beginning. Brazil was freedom personified—Richarlison was a winger-turned striker, while Neymar was a forward playin...