Lionel Messi has attained immortality. Argentina have ended a 36 year wait for the FIFA World Cup trophy. Messi's World Cup journey has had a fairytale ending.
In 2014, when Messi was awarded the Golden Ball for the Player of the Tournament, after Argentina went down to Germany in the final of the World Cup, many thought it was more of a consolation prize for a man who is tagged as the best player in the world and one who was left heartbroken. One school of thought was that Messi did not deserve the award. He scored 4 goals in that edition, but none in the knockouts.
This time in Qatar, not too many can question the decision to give the prize for the best player of the tournament to the 'little magician'. Messi became the first player ever to score in every round of the World Cup - from the group stage to the final.
But do you know who won the Silver Ball?
TimesofIndia.com here takes a look at the full list of individual awards at Qatar 2022:
Lionel Messi (7 goals and 3 assists)
Silver Ball (For second best player of the tournament) - Kylian Mbappe (8 goals and 2 assists)
Bronze Ball (For third best player of the tournament) - Luka Modric
For Highest Goal-Scorers:
Kylian Mbappe (8 goals)
Silver Boot (Second highest goal-scorer) - Lionel Messi (7 goals)
Bronze Boot (Third highest goal-scorer) - Olivier Giroud & Julian Alvarez (4 goals each)
For Best Goal-Keeper:
Emiliano Martinez (3 clean sheets)
Best Young Player of the tournament:
Enzo Fernandez (Argentina)
