Why was the Argentina vs France World Cup Final so special? Let us count the ways. It was the first final with multiple comebacks since 1966 and all that. It was the first Final ever where each team scored at least three goals. And of course, it was Leo Messi’s first win.
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:
El Hincha says that “the love is stronger,” after all, Messi wasn’t always the most beloved player in his native country. Also, the lede refers to “malditos penales,” or, “damned penalties,” which is a good way to describe the format we are stuck with for deciding world championships.
La Nacion captures what Messi has been seeking all these years, “Eternal Glory”:
Clarín gives thanks to Messi:
Diario Popular channels Montgomery Clift and Burt Lancaster in exclaiming “Friends, From Here to Eternity”:
El Tribuno captured just some of the public jubilation throughout the country:
French reaction
La Voix du Nord keeps it chin up with a simply spectacular photo and the words “Thanks Anyway”:
Le Parisien also strikes a thankful tone with “Proud of our Blues”:
Same for L’Equipe with its message of “Keep Your Head Up”:
La Dépêche rues how close France came to the win:
The Courrier Picard found a great photo to accompany its headline of “Disappointment at the End of the Suspense”:
International reaction
The Sun makes sure to remind us that yesterday’s final wasn’t the best of all time:
The Daily Express disagrees:
The Daily Star doesn’t find much room on its front page for the final because of its groundbreaking investigation into what temperature dogs prefer to sleep in:
The Daily Mail evokes Charlton Heston and Rex Harrison in going with “The Agony and the Ecstasy”:
Brazil’s papers were magnanimous toward their country’s rival. Extra says that Messi “Deserves It”:
While O Globo deems Messi an “Immortal”:
In Spain, where Messi spent the bulk of his club years, the Sport newspaper went a bit hyperbolic with “Gods Exist”:
Mundo Deportivo delivers the hot take that Messi is the greatest of all time:
The NFL is typically the only sport to make the front pages in the US – a nation dominated by the austere broadsheets rather than tabloids. But this final was epic enough to make covers coast to coast:
Photo credit: IMAGO / Ulmer/Teamfoto
