Unsung Heroes of The World Cup Final

Yes! King Lionel Messi and Phenomenal Kylian Mbappe Stole the headlines before ,during and after the Final of the 2022 World Cup but there were other Men of Calibre in that Final that also deserve to be Highly Praised but have unfortunately been Forgetten! I bet you without these Gentlemen Messi and Mbappe would not have Shined As they Did.

Didier Deschamps

Didier Deschamps is for me the Best International Coach who proved his Mettle again in the Final after making early and audacious substitutions.

Taking off France’s all time top goal Scorer Olivier Giroud (53 goals) and Ousman Dembele for Marcus Thuram and Kolo Muani respectively at the 41st minute paid off.

Muani in Particular transformed the French attack.He caused the 79th minute penalty and gave an assist 90 seconds later for Mbappe’s 2nd Goal.

Though Muani is another unsung Hero, I want to first focus on Deschamps. Without his tactics, France might have shamefully lost the Final.

France were outclassed and outplayed by the Argentines in the opening 45 but the Substitutions he made were key to their honourable Loss.

And if you still think Deschamps is nothing without Mbappe, you can go down memory lane to the 2016 Euros that France finished as Runners-Up. There was no Wonder Boy Mbappe in that team as he only made his debut for France in 2017. Didier Deschamps produced World Class football in that Competition and bowed only to Fernando Santos and Christiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in the Final.

Lionel Scaloni

Lionel Scaloni is looked upon by some as a lucky guy for having Messi in his team.

Take nothing away from the 7 time Ballan d’or Winner but Scaloni remains a great Contributor to Messi’s Recent Successes in National Coulours.

Scaloni has constructed a rock solid Argentina team that had already won the Copa América and CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions before arriving the Qatar World Cup.

The 44 year old who had given just a few minutes to Angel Dimaria in the knockout out stages of this World Cup , started him in the Final.

Dimaria who is another unsung hero provoked Argentina’s penalty and scored their 2nd goal.

Unfortunately he was subbed off in the 2nd half.

This change in the starting line up amongst others gave a touch of experience to Scaloni’s team.

And if you still believe Scaloni is just lucky, wait for Messi to leave and see if this Guy will not still churn out good results with La Albiceleste.

Kolo Muani

Randal Kolo Muani who we have already Mentioned above has proven to be one of the Super Subs of the Tournament.

The Frankfurt Forward Kolo Muani came on for Ousmane Dembélé just before half-time and transformed the French attack against Argentina in the World Cup final.

The 24 year old worked hard at the heart of the Argentinian defence, chipping in all the balls with his head. He was even more valuable when, in the 79th minute, he took the ball away from Otamendi before going down for a foul by the Argentinedefender. It was a penalty that Kylian Mbappé converted (1-2).

A minute later, Kolo Muani was again decisive with a pass to the PSG player, who volleyed in a magnificent goal to put Les Bleus back on track (2-2).

He had already scored in the semi-final against Morocco (2-0), and was one of the few to rise to the occasion. He even came close to becoming the hero in the 2nd segment of prolongation.

Kolo Muani was indeed one of the Revelations of the World Cup.

Di Maria

Angel Di Maria looked dangerous in the 1st half and earned a penalty on 21 minutes when he went down under a clumsy challenge from France’s Ousmane Dembele. Messi stepped up to convert and calmly rolled the ball into the bottom-left corner.

The Juventus winger starred once again shortly after when Messi set midfielder Alexis Mac Allister free down the right wing before he slotted across to an eagerly arriving Di Maria, who struck past France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. It was Di Maria’s third straight final with a goal for Argentina, his previous coming in the 2021 Copa America final victory over Brazil.

Di Maria has indeed proven that he is man for the Big Occasion with his vital performance at the 2022 World Cup Final.

Emiliano Martinez

I call him the ‘Saviour’ Goalkeeper.  

Apart from Saving 2 Penalties in the Final ,Martínez made a superhuman save in the 116th minute to deny forward Kolo Muani a Winner.

The 30 year Old had an exceptional World Cup and grabbed his golden glove Award.

Those were our Unsung Heroes of The Final of the Qatar World Cup. The list is not Exhaustive though and you can Always tell us your own Unsung Hero of that Final in the Comment box.

Henry Tataw Ekambi,
Sports Journalist