Argentina's Lionel Messi casts a shadow during the World Cup final soccer match between Spain and Argentina in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, Sunday, July 19. AP-Yonhap
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Lionel Messi could conjure no more magic.
Twenty years after his World Cup debut and a career that lifted him above Pelé and Diego Maradona as soccer’s greatest player, at 39 he could not will Argentina to become the first repeat champion in more than a half-century.
Spain outplayed the Albiceleste from the opening whistle at MetLife Stadium, where the overwhelming majority of 80,663 were hoping for a recoronation. Ferran Torres scored 37 seconds into the second extra-time period, lifting Spain to a 1-0 victory and its second World Cup title.
Instead of Messi becoming a two-time champion, the crown passed. He fought back tears and had a look of misery as he and teammates faced applauding and bowing Argentina fans at the stadium's south end while Spanish stars lifted the trophy on a podium at the center stripe.
