World Cup: Twitter thread highlights Lionel Messi's supreme football IQ in final vs France

Seven-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi once again showcased his class during the FIFA World Cup 2022 tournament as he led his country to their third title (1978, 1986) and the first in 36 years. The 35-year-old not only led his side from the front in the final with a brace, but he also did so in the previous stages of the tournament.

Messi scored seven goals and provided three assists from his seven appearances in the FIFA World Cup 2022. Following his outstanding performances in the tournament and especially the final, here is a look at a detailed thread that explains what makes the 35-year-old so special.

Thread explains Messi's stunning performance vs France

A Twitter thread has explained how Lionel Messi's vision and eye for creating chances make him one of the best players in football. The thread uses the Argentina vs France FIFA World Cup final as an example to explain how the 35-year-old scans the pitch to understand which pass to make to create the best chance at that moment.

The thread states that during the Argentina vs France clash, Messi scanned the pitch a total of 676 times. This means that he had a scan frequency of 0.34 during the game which is substantially better than the average scan of a Premier League forward (0.28). And that is not it, as Messi also had an exceptionally successful pass rate of 90%, with most of these passes coming after he carefully scanned the pitch. It is this ability of the 35-year-old that makes him a constant threat to the opposition.

'Took 30 years': Messi explains struggles to achieve dream

After leading Argentina to an outstanding 4-2 win on penalties (3-3 after extra time) against France in the FIFA World Cup final, Lionel Messi penned an emotional note to explain the struggles it took him to reach this stage. His Instagram post read, "From Grandoli to the Qatar World Cup took almost 30 years. It was close to three decades when the ball gave me many joys and also some sorrows. I always had a dream of being a World Champion and I didn't want to stop trying."