The same Messi, the same Mbappe: waiting for another beginning
More than three and a half years have passed since that epic night at Lusail. Yet some nights never truly end.
On a quiet evening in Paris, perhaps sitting beneath the soft lights of his living room, does Kylian Mbappe still see Emiliano Martinez''s incredible save every time he closes his eyes? Does he still hear the deafening roar of Argentina's sky-blue-and-white celebrations after the penalty shootout?
Even a superhuman hat-trick could not erase the pain of missing out on the trophy. A Golden Boot is no substitute for a World Cup title.
Mbappe, of course, had already won the World Cup four years before Lionel Messi finally lifted it. Yet the wound from the 2022 final remains fresh. In a recent interview with French newspaper Le Parisien, teammate Warren Zaire-Emery asked him which match he would replay if given the chance.
Mbappe did not hesitate.
"The 2022 final against Argentina. If I could, I''d change the result."
He cannot rewrite history, but he now has another opportunity to win the one trophy that Messi, the magician, denied him.
There is only one problem.
Messi is still here.
Their new World Cup campaigns begin only hours apart. France, led by Mbappe, take on Senegal at 1:00 am Bangladesh time tonight. A few hours later, at 7:00 am tomorrow, Messi's Argentina face Algeria at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
Some footballers step onto the pitch to win matches. Others step onto it to make time stand still.
Messi now belongs to the latter.
Since leaving Europe''s brightest stage for Inter Miami, football has become more about joy than relentless competition for the Argentine captain. Many believed Qatar would be his farewell. Even Messi himself had doubts. But football has a way of pulling its greatest artists back.
He has returned once more.
A lively 20-minute appearance and a penalty goal in the friendly against Iceland showed that neither a hamstring injury nor the passing of time has diminished the divine gift in his left foot. Enzo Fernandez, Alexis Mac Allister and Rodrigo De Paul still know exactly where to look whenever they lift their heads in midfield—they know No. 10 will be there.
Against Algeria, Messi is set to become only the third player in history, after Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo and Kuwait's Bader Al-Mutawa, to reach 200 international appearances. If Argentina go all the way to the final in New Jersey on 19 July, that tally could rise to 207.
It is equally certain that Mbappe has no intention of leaving this World Cup before playing all eight possible matches.
Twelve members of France's 2022 World Cup squad—including Mbappe—remain in Didier Deschamps'' team. Most of them are likely still driven by the memory of that agonising penalty shootout defeat in Qatar.
There is another race unfolding as well.
Across five World Cups, Messi has scored 13 goals. Mbappe, after only two tournaments, already has 12.
The all-time World Cup scoring record of 16 goals, held by Miroslav Klose, is within reach of both men. Neither is likely to give an inch.
The image of Mbappe collecting the Golden Boot while Messi lifted the World Cup trophy in Lusail could have marked a symbolic passing of the torch.
But Messi was not ready to let go.
Now, there is only one way for Mbappe to take it—from Messi himself.
So when Mbappe begins his run tonight, and when Messi takes his first touch tomorrow morning, it will not simply be the start of another World Cup campaign.
It will be the opening chapter of the long-awaited second volume of the unfinished novel that began in Lusail—one that promises football fans another unforgettable story.