World Cup 2018: 4 things that would have happened had Messi won the World Cup
Before the commencement of World Cup 2018, the top 4 contenders were Brazil, Spain, Germany, and France. But the one thing that made Argentina, a South American giant on the wane of its powers, a contender for the World Cup was the presence of Lionel Messi.
Argentina came into this World Cup on the back of an abysmal qualifying campaign, where they barely managed to qualify for the prestigious competition. Things went south during their World Cup campaign when they were held to a 1-1 draw by minnows Iceland and were beaten handsomely by Croatia. But an inspirational Lionel Messi performance saw Argentina qualifying for the Knock-out stages, where they bowed out to a rampant French side led by Kylian Mbappe.
But what would have happened had Messi won the World Cup this time around? Here are 4 things:
#4. A golden generation would have retired for good
2014 FIFA World Cup saw Leo Messi and company face off against a rampaging German side. Billed as "the best player vs the best team", the best team ultimately prevailed against the man perceived by many as the reincarnation of God himself.
But that team also included a string of talented players such as Javier Mascherano, Gonzalo Higuain etc. who were instrumental in their side's voyage to the final of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The same bunch of players then went on to lose 2 successive Copa America finals, which further intensified the heartache they had endured after losing the Final in 2014. Even after the debacle in the 2018 World Cup, Messi is still in the hunt for International glory with Argentina despite limited talent and unlimited expectations.
If Messi had won the World Cup in 2018, he would have retired for good and many of his colleagues such as Sergio Aguero, Angel Di Maria etc would have retired following in their captain's footsteps, paving the way for the youngsters in the process.