By Ibrahim Danladi

Portuguese football legend Deco has credited Lionel Messi’s presence as the key factor behind Argentina’s triumph in the 2022 FIFA World Cup held in Qatar.

Leading La Albiceleste as captain, Messi guided Argentina to their third World Cup victory, their first since 1986. Despite an initial 2-1 defeat against Saudi Arabia, the South American giants went on to win every subsequent match. In an exhilarating final against France that ended in a 3-3 draw after extra time, Argentina emerged victorious in a penalty shootout.

Messi’s exceptional performance earned him the Golden Ball award, with seven goals and three assists throughout the tournament. Notably, he scored a crucial brace in the final and converted his penalty in the shootout. In contrast, Portugal, captained by Messi’s rival Cristiano Ronaldo, were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Morocco.

Deco, who represented A Selecao in 75 matches, acknowledged Portugal’s wealth of talented players but pointed out the absence of the Argentine talisman. Speaking in an interview with Argentine outlet TR Sports, Deco expressed, “Argentina won the World Cup because they have Messi. For us, Portugal had the best generation of good players, but we don’t have Messi.”

Interestingly, Ronaldo struggled to make an impact during the 2022 World Cup, scoring only one goal in five matches and starting on the bench in the knockout stage games.