Argentina icon Lionel Messi won the Golden Ball at the 2022 World Cup. But HITC Football names five alternative players for the FIFA trophy – including Sofyan Amrabat of Morocco.
FIFA recognised Messi as the best player at the 22nd edition of its quadrennial tournament after guiding La Albiceleste to the title. He received the most votes among select members of the media following the FIFA technical committee producing a shortlist of the nominees.
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Messi is the first player to win the award twice since its inception for the 1982 tournament in Spain. FIFA previously awarded it to the 35-year-old for his work carrying Argentina over the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Germany, though, beat the South Americans 1-0 during that final.
Lionel Messi was a worthy winner of the 2022 World Cup Golden Ball award
But Qatar 2022 finally saw Messi add a World Cup winner’s medal to his decorated trophy cabinet. He also came within one goal of the Golden Boot, won by France talisman Kylian Mbappe. The Argentine scored seven goals to his Paris Saint-German teammate with eight.
Messi also produced three assists and almost single-handily inspired their campaign again at points. Without his goal against Mexico in Group C, Argentina were facing back-to-back winless ties after losing 2-1 to Saudi Arabia. He produced the magic to break the deadlock.
Furthermore, Messi is now the first player to ever score in every round of the World Cup. He boasts 13 goals and eight assists over 26 career appearances at five editions of the FIFA tournament. The 172-cap icon only failed to score in one of his seven games at Qatar 2022.
Each of Messi’s World Cup goals before Qatar 2022 also came during the group stage with one in 2006, four in 2014 and one in 2018. He struck once in the Round of 16, quarter-final and semi-finals in 2022, as well as two in the final. Messi had one prior brace during 2014.
So, Messi was very much a worthy winner of the Golden Ball award at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. So, who also had a right to the trophy after their efforts at the FIFA tournament…
Kylian Mbappe may have taken the Golden Ball if he won the 2022 World Cup
Mbappe, for one, may have taken the Golden Ball as well as the Golden Boot if France beat Messi and Argentina in the 2022 World Cup final. He single-handily dragged Les Bleus back into the tie while 2-0 down in regular time. His second penalty also forced it to a shootout.
The 24-year-old was frequently the architect of France’s early form in Qatar as opponents struggled to restrict his influence. He would run defenders ragged all-game long through his ability on the ball, speed on the run and power to shrug off their attempted challenges.
Argentina kept a lid on him for most of the game, too. But Mbappe spun in behind Nahuel Molina as France got their tails up after Nicolas Otamendi fouled Randal Kolo Muani for a penalty, which Mbappe scored, and got his brace with a powerful shot to force extra time.
Didier Deschamps did not restrict Mbappe’s influence to the left-hand channel, either. He was willing to let the forward move around the frontline to get amongst the action where he could do the most damage. But his role against England and Morocco was less fruitful.
Antoine Griezmann could have won the Golden Ball with a remarkable final
Had it been Antoine Griezmann who lit up the World Cup final and France won the title, he could have been an alternative option to win the Golden Ball, as well. The Atletico Madrid ace was instrumental behind Les Bleus’ run in Qatar after he pulled the strings throughout.
Griezmann shouldered the burden to create more chances during the World Cup than any other player. The 31-year-old registered 22 key passes, ahead of Messi on 21 and Mbappe, plus fellow Frenchman Ousmane Dembele and Theo Hernandez, with 11, per WhoScored.
He was also the engine and soul of their midfield with Griezmann often dropping in to fill a box-to-box role. It meant he would not score, as well as create chances. But Griezmann’s efforts from the core of the pitch allowed France to attack every blade of grass for the ball.
In the end, though, he was one of a few France players to fall below their usual standards in the final. Deschamps ultimately took his 2018 World Cup champion off 71 minutes into the final. He departed the field nine minutes before Mbappe converted his first of two penalties.
Sofyan Amrabat would have been a very outside-the-box option for the trophy
Amrabat would have been a rather outside-the-box option as an alternative player to win the Golden Ball at the 2022 World Cup. But the Morocco midfielder was fundamental to the Atlas Lions becoming the first African team to ever play the semi-finals of the tournament.
The Fiorentina star set the tone for how Walid Regragui wanted his squad to play in Qatar. He was their endless heartbeat, raising the tempo for those around him and chasing every lost cause. Amrabat simply never stopped pushing and delivering a raft of sublime tackles.
If any one moment summed up his tournament, it was Amrabat’s crunching tackle to win possession from Mbappe. The 26-year-old was not going to let the forward escape him in the semi-finals and matched the PSG dynamo’s pace before stifling a Bleus counter-attack.
Now, Amrabat could be at the heart of a transfer tussle come the January market. Lions de L’Atlas reports Liverpool will now Fiorentina offer €45m (£34m) to overlook rival interest from Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Atletico Madrid. The Reds’ interest is also not all that new.
Jurgen Klopp approached Amrabat and his agent before the World Cup to discuss a move to Anfield. Now, his World Cup exploits have given Fiorentina reason to believe they could make a profit on the €20m (£17.5m) the Viola paid Hellas Verona for him in August 2020.
Add in further interest in the Premier League from West Ham United, per the Daily Mail, it is clear why Fiorentina will not let Amrabat leave easily after his instrumental World Cup form.
Without Emiliano Martinez, Argentina would not have made the final
While Argentina needed Messi to kick their offence into gear at the World Cup in his run to winning the Golden Ball, they may never have made the final without Emiliano Martinez in goal. He kept three clean sheets over seven games and was key in their penalty shootouts.
The Aston Villa stopper’s save to deny Virgil van Dijk put the Netherlands on the back foot straight away in their quarter-final. Martinez had to get off his line quickly to meet the hit and got both of his hands onto the ball to stop it from going in with Oranje’s first from 12 yards.
The 30-year-old would guess right to save Steven Berghuis’ penalty with the Netherlands’ second spot-kick, as well. It meant that even with Enzo Fernandez missing from the spot, Argentina went through to meet Croatia. And his saves ultimately saw them win the final.
Mbappe beat Martinez with two penalties to force a shootout and he scored with France’s first. But neither strike dented the Villans ace’s confidence and he got down quickly to get his whole body behind Kingsley Coman’s attempt. He also came close to saving Mbappe’s.
After getting a touch on Mbappe’s before turning away Coman’s, Martinez was in no mood to let Aurelien Tchouameni convert. His antics before the €100m (£87.5m) Real Madrid ace put the ball down seemed to put the 22-year-old off and he sent his shot wide of the post.
But as Messi produced magic like his group stage goal with Mexico and run to assist Julian Alvarez against Croatia in the semi-finals, Martinez was unlikely to be a realistic alternative to win the Golden Ball over his compatriot and had to settle for the Golden Glove award.
Josko Gvardiol was likely one defeat too many away from Golden Ball contention
Josko Gvardiol was likely one defeat too many away from Golden Ball contention over the 2022 World Cup. Had Croatia caused an upset and sent Argentina home in the semi-finals, then he would have had the final and a match-up with Mbappe to show the globe his skill.
In the end, the 20-year-old returns to RB Leipzig with the bronze medal after his vital role in Vatreni’s campaign. Boss Zlatko Dalic had to rely on his defence to carry Croatia as their forward options failed to shine. Yet shine did Gvardiol, and some – but for against Messi.
Gvardiol arguably did everything right in trying to prevent Messi from assisting Alvarez to go 3-0 up in their semi-final. Yet the Argentina icon saw the centre-back try to shield him down the line, accepted his fate and turned maybe the best defender of his generation inside out.
Messi dragged the ball back twice to try and accelerate past Gvardiol but found no joy as they ran stride for stride. But a quick drop of the shoulder saw Messi get behind and in a position Gvardiol could no longer attempt to tackle. From there, it was a simple cutback.
Yet Gvardiol had been the best defender through the entire World Cup before coming up against one of the all-time greats. His work snatching possession and launching Croatia’s attacks from the back was fundamental to their third-place finishing campaign in Qatar.
Now, 90min reports Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester United have all informed RB Leipzig of their interest in Gvardiol. Real Madrid and Manchester City have also spoken to his Bundesliga outfit. But Chelsea are confident they can win the race for a 2023 transfer.
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