LUSAIL, Qatar — The World Cup final “for eternity” descended into madness, and then into perhaps the greatest game ever played, around 7:40 p.m. here at the Lusail Stadium on Sunday, with Argentine dreams crystallizing and then, suddenly, in 96 seconds, paralyzed.
They were ultimately realized on a night of lunacy and heart-stopping drama, of Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé. They were realized by and for Messi, and by Argentine goalkeeper Emi Martinez, and for a nation of 46 million that erupted into once-in-a-generation celebrations.
But only after Mbappé twice shattered those dreams.