Before guiding Argentina to victory at the Qatar 2022 World Cup, famed Italian coach Fabio Capello claimed that Lionel Messi had already attained the level of Diego Maradona.
Messi finally took home football's most cherished trophy after leading Argentina to their third World Cup success.
Argentina and France's championship game finished in a 3-3 deadlock, forcing penalties. Argentina won 4-2 with the aid of the former Barcelona player's two goals, giving the nation its first global championship since 1986.
It has long been highly contested whether Messi has equaled the accomplishments of the late Argentine great.
Capello believes that Messi was already performing at the level of the World Cup champion from 1986 before the event in Qatar.
"To me, he was on the same level even before the World Cup," said Capello. According to Football Italia, "Pele, Messi, and Maradona did things that others couldn't even imagine.
Karim Benzema appeared to have healed from his injury, but Capello declared that he wouldn't be playing him in the championship game against Argentina.
When asked if it was the right decision to leave Karim Benzema out of the lineup for the final, Didier Deschamps responded, "No, I did the same with Savicevic before the Intercontinental Cup Final in 1993.
“On the morning of the game, he told me that he was ready to play after I had prepared everything with Raducioiu. Out of respect, I didn’t let him play. I thought it was a fair decision for the team. Now, the question remains: would Milan and France have won one more trophy with Savicevic and Benzema? Perhaps, yes.”