Why was the Argentina vs France World Cup final so special? Let’s count the ways. It was the first final with multiple comebacks since . It was the first final in which each team scored at least three goals. And of course, it was Leo Messi’s first victory.
Let’s see how the world reacted to the world class final.
Argentine reaction
Los Andes says that the “Dream is Complete”:
La Voz celebrates the country’s third World Cup:
The fan says that “love is stronger”, after all, Messi was not always the most loved player in his native country. Also, the lede refers to “damn penalties”, which is a good way of describing the format we have to decide the world championships.
La Nación embodies what Messi has been looking for all these years, “Eternal Glory”:
Clarín thanks Messi:
Diario Popular channels and Burt Lancaster when exclaiming “Friends, from here to eternity”:
The Tribune captured only part of the public jubilation across the country:
french reaction
La Voix du Nord keeps its chin up with a simply spectacular photo and the words “Thanks anyway”:
Le Parisien also strikes a tone of appreciation with “Proud of our Blues”:
The same for L’Equipe with its “Keep Your Head Up” message:
The streets of La Dépêche how close France came to victory:
The Courrier Picard found a great photo to go along with its “Disappointment at the End of the Suspense” headline:
international reaction
The Sun makes sure to remind us that yesterday’s final was not the greatest of all time:
The Daily Express disagrees:
The Daily Star doesn’t find much space on its front page for the finale due to its groundbreaking research on what temperatures dogs prefer to sleep at:
The Daily Mail and Rex Harrison on going with “The Agony and the Ecstasy”:
The Brazilian newspapers were magnanimous with their country’s rival. Extra says that Messi “deserves it”:
While O Globo describes Messi as “immortal”:
In Spain, where Messi spent most of his club years, the Sport newspaper went a bit hyperbolic with “The Gods Exist”:
Mundo Deportivo offers the hot opinion that Messi is the best of all time:
The NFL is often the only front-page sport in the US, a nation dominated by austere broadsheets rather than tabloids. But this finale was epic enough to make covers from coast to coast:
Photo credit: IMAGO / Ulmer/Teamfoto
