OPINION | Perhaps football owes genius Messi the World Cup

He doesn’t have a divine or birthright to it but a strong argument can be made by football purists that somehow the sport “owes” Lionel Messi the Fifa World Cup.

A strong argument along those lines will be made by millions around the world who have been mesmerised by the outrageous football genius of the Argentine over the better part of the last decade as Argentina line up against France in Sunday's final at Lusail Stadium (5pm SA time).

It will be made by his fanatical followers and possibly the entire population of Argentina, the country that birthed this superstar footballer who broke records and defied the laws of physics with his genius on the football pitch.

Many, including those aligned with his fierce rival Cristiano Ronaldo will remember the countless dumbfounding moments and unrivalled joy he brought them, especially during his peak under Pep Guardiola at the all-conquering Barcelona when Messi was almost unplayable.

Widely regarded as the best of his generation — or even to have ever played the sport — 35-year-old Messi is not at the level he was during his peak at Camp Nou, but he has rolled back the years in Qatar with sumptuous attacking football.

With reason, there will be dissenting voices — those who will say a prodigious young talent like Kylian Mbappé and his coach Didier Deschamps deserve their second winners' medal.

If they triumph, Mbappé could become a double Fifa World Cup champion before reaching his 24th birthday and Deschamps would enter the record books as the first person to win the World Cup twice as a coach and once as a player.

I agree Messi can’t just rock up to collect the winner's medal without breaking a sweat — he has to roll up his sleeves and dig deep to influence La Albiceleste to win the title for Argentina in a way his idol Diego Maradona did in 1986. And against a team of France's quality, Sunday afternoon is almost certain to see just that kind of titanic struggle.

Messi has to bring his A-game against the strong Les Bleus side that boasts the frightening attack of Ousmane Dembele, Antoine Griezmann, Mbappé and Olivier Giroud, who have enjoyed a remarkable tournament.

Messi will be the focal point for coach Lionel Scaloni's oufit but he will have the likes of Leandro Paredes, Enzo Fernandez, Alexis Mac Allister and the mightily dangerous Julian Alvarez playing the supporting role.

Given the enormity of the occasion, there is speculation Scaloni may turn to veteran attacker Angel Di Maria, who missed their semifinal win over Croatia due to a quadricep injury.

Messi has illuminated this tournament with five goals, equal with Mbappé, and also tops the assists charts with three, where he is sitting alongside Harry Kane of England, Antoine Griezmann of France and Bruno Fernandes of Portugal.

It has not only been his goals and assists that have dragged Argentina to the final. He has dazzled, bewitched and played beautiful football in Qatar as they look to banish the memories of Maracanã Stadium in 2014 where they lost to Germany.

The world awaits one more sumptuous performance in what will be his last World Cup — and I hope football rewards his greatness with this trophy that has eluded him across his 19-year professional career.

If he puts the icing on the cake with a winner's medal, he will definitely remove the asterisk next to his name and silence detractors who have rejected the argument that he is the greatest-ever to play the game.

Why would football not want to reward a man whose many highlights include 11 league titles, four Champions Leagues, the Copa América and seven Ballons d’Or? This is a man who has scored 791 career goals, 96 of them for Argentina, and just needs this World Cup to fill the only gap that remains open on his astronomical career for club and country.

It's a telling statistic that Messi is playing in his fifth World Cup, surpassing the four by the late Diego Maradona and Javier Mascherano, and with his fifth goal in Qatar he also surpassed Gabriel Batistuta as the top scorer for Argentina at World Cups with 11.

The weight of expectation on the shoulders of Messi and his teammates is enormous. This is not a task for the faint-hearted, but he has faced up to many high-stake matches with Barcelona and almost always triumphed.

On Sunday, at Lusail Stadium in the northern suburbs of Doha, Messi will be playing for the right to be elevated to a place in the pantheon of the game alongside Pelé and Maradona.

Sport sometimes doesn’t produce fairytales, but millions will hope football rewards Messi with his crowning moment deep in the bowels of Lusail Stadium. He deserves that, for what he has been and what he has done for the sport.

* All the World Cup groups, fixtures and results here

* All the World Cup news here 

* All the World Cup squads here

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