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Neymar took to social media to congratulate Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) teammate Lionel Messi after he led Argentina to FIFA World Cup glory in Qatar.
Messi has finally fulfilled a career-long dream of his by winning the FIFA World Cup with Argentina. La Albiceleste beat France on penalties to lift the trophy at the Lusail Stadium on Sunday, 18 December.
The game was certainly not short of drama as PSG teammates Messi and Kylian Mbappe starred for their respective teams. The clash had to be settled on penalties after the scoreline read 3-3 after the end of extra time.
Argentina took the lead through a penalty from their captain 23 minutes into the game. Angel Di Maria then doubled his team's lead 13 minutes later, with Alexis Mac Allister providing the assist.
Lionel Scaloni's side appeared to be heading toward an easy win when France pulled a brilliant comeback. Two late goals from Mbappe within the space of a minute saw the game end at 2-2 after 90 minutes.
Messi scored his second goal of the evening in extra time to put La Albiceleste in front again. Mbappe, though, found the back of the net for the third time in the game to pull level for Les Bleus.
Scaloni's men converted their penalties in the shootout, but the French players failed to do so. Emiliano Martinez saved Kingsley Coman's effort, while Aurelien Tchouamani could not hit the target.
Argentina thus won the FIFA World Cup for the first time since Diego Maradona led them to glory in 1986. Messi, on the other hand, fortified his status as one of the best footballers of all time.
Neymar, who has shared the dressing room with the 35-year-old at Barcelona and PSG, was among the first to wish him joy. The Brazil superstar took to Instagram to congratulate his teammate. He wrote:
"Congrats Brother."
How did Messi fare for Argentina at the FIFA World Cup?
The PSG superstar did most of the heavy lifting for the South American champions at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. His contributions were pivotal on their road to glory in Qatar this year.
He found the back of the net seven times for La Albiceleste in seven matches at the World Cup. He also provided three assists for his teammates in those games and deservingly won the Golden Ball award.
Having finally won the trophy that evaded him for most of his career, it now remains to be seen if he will now retire from international football. He will now turn his attention toward his club career with PSG.
