It seems as though the world has a team it would prefer to win the World Cup final. Lionel Messi’s image feels ever-present in Qatar. Argentina have probably had the largest contingent of fans in Doha throughout the tournament, but Messi’s popularity in Qatar appears to make him the home favourite as well. The irresistible sense that he deserves to win the World Cup, and that it is now or never, has brought a coalition of support.
Luka Modric reacted to Croatia’s defeat in the semi-final by saying he hoped Messi would emerge triumphant, a Real Madrid great getting behind Barcelona’s greatest player. The original and World Cup-winning Ronaldo said he could never support Argentina, but wanted Messi to win. From Luis Enrique to Andriy Shevchenko to even the former France forward Andre-Pierre Gignac, it seems as though everyone would like to see Messi with the greatest prize of all.
