Winning an international trophy in the biggest sporting event in the world is no mean feat. And in winning the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Lionel Messi has proven that he is the best player in the world for years to come. To celebrate this achievement, Messi followed a trend that was first started by Robert Lewandowski, when Bayern Munich won the Champions League trophy in 2020.
He posted a hilarious picture of him alongside the World Cup in bed on his official Instagram page.
The post had a simple caption that read, 'Good morning!,' in Spanish.
Even Italy's defensive duo Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini posted a similar photo with the UEFA Euros trophy in 2021, while Sadio Mane also followed the trend when he won the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal back in January.
Messi scored two goals and then another in a shootout as Argentina lifted their first World Cup title since 1986 and third overall. Messi put Argentina ahead from the penalty spot and played a part in Angel Di Maria's goal that made it 2-0 after 36 minutes. Mbappe scored two goals in a 97-second span to take the game to extra time, and then Messi tapped in his second goal in the 109th minute. But there was still time for another penalty from Mbappe to take the thrilling game to a shootout.
Hero against the Netherlands in the Quarterfinals, all eyes were on the Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez. He got a hand on Mbappe's penalty, and but was unable to save the same. But he did save the penalty of Kingsley Coman before young gun Aurelien Tchouameni fired the ball wide.
For the eventual world champions, going from villain to hero, Montiel converted the winning spot-kick to clinch a 4-2 shoot-out success at the end of a thriller at Lusail Stadium.
Meanwhile, the Argentine government has declared a national holiday on December 20 (Tuesday) so that fans can celebrate the World Cup triumph with their heroes.
"I want to be in Argentina to see how crazy it is. I want them to wait for me, I can't wait to go there and enjoy it with them," Argentina captain Lionel Messi had said after winning the World Cup. And now, his wish has been granted.
"The world champion squad will leave on Tuesday at noon for the Obelisk to celebrate the world title with the fans," the Argentine Football Association (AFA) said on their official Twitter account.
