Messi loses his Golden Boot to Mbappe after ‘zero’ shots in World Cup final

In the end, it was not a happy exit for Leo Messi at the greatest stage in football, the World Cup. His Argentina failed to defend their title, losing 0-1 to Spain in the final at the New York New Jersey Stadium.

Messi had entered the pitch aiming to lift his second World Cup. He had crowned the South Americans four years ago in Qatar with a thrilling shootout win over France.

It wasn't the golden World Cup trophy alone that was at stake; Messi could have also secured the Golden Boot. He was the frontrunner until 24 hours ago, before France's Kylian Mbappe edged ahead.

Mbappe had taken his tally from the tournament to 10 goals with a brace in a 4-6 defeat to England in the bronze medal match. Messi had to score at least twice to claim the individual prize.

On his part, Messi had a forgettable final, arguably one of his worst performances in a title match, for both clubs and country. That was because not a single Argentine player had a shot on target across 120 minutes, not even Messi.

Spain took 20 shots and directed 12 on target, while Argentina did not force a single save from goalkeeper Unai Simon.

Such was Spain's dominance that, even with a legend like Messi on their side, Argentina never troubled the Europeans. The South Americans came agonisingly close in the dying moments but failed to hit the target. Substitute Ferran Torres scored the winner in the 106th minute to give Spain their second World Cup title after 2010.

Messi will be 43 when the next World Cup is played, and it is highly unlikely that the superstar will return to try and win it again.