With Lionel Messi heading off into the sunset clutching that famous gold trophy, the dust settles on what goes down as one of the greatest World Cup finals ever. Both he and Kylian Mbappe, the two finest footballers on the planet, produced the goods in the biggest game, and the fairy tale finish was completed as Argentina won the dramatic penalty shootout.
Is it the best final football has ever produced? Quite possibly. But is it the best final sport has ever seen? We’ve taken a look at some of the best and will let you decide on a definitive answer.
Nadal v Federer - Wimbledon 2008
Great finals are defined by iconic players at the peak of their powers. Messi is well past that which makes his achievement even more remarkable, but in terms of individual match-ups, they don’t come any better than the Men’s Wimbledon Final in 2008. Roger Federer had won five in a row and was, for many, already considered one of the greatest of all time.
But just like Messi, he had a perfect sparring partner. Rafa Nadal was in every way like Cristiano Ronaldo. Good looking, immensely strong and ruthless in key moments. He was the antidote to Federer’s grace, and in 2008 on the biggest stage, we got to see them go toe-to-toe.
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Nadal raced into a two set lead, but the Swiss ace kept his nerve as the two played out some of the longest and finest rallies the sport has ever seen. It was the perfect match-up of skills. The Spaniard’s power vs Federer’s guile and both of them at their peak, seeds one and two heading into the tournament. There were two rain delays, but it was the five-time champion who held his nerve in two successive tie-breaks to take it to a fifth set.
Then after 4 hours and 48 minutes of play and seven hours in total, Nadal broke through to win the final set 9-7. It’s still the longest Wimbledon final we’ve ever seen. And it’s the best tennis match of all time, unlikely to ever be beaten.
England v New Zealand - Cricket World Cup Final 2019
From the greatest tennis match to the greatest ODI cricket match in terms of pure drama. England were involved as the host nation, and the crowd were desperate to see Eoin Morgan lift the trophy, but boy did they make hard work of it.
New Zealand hit 241 from their 50 overs and it wasn’t apparent that we would be in for a tight finish as their bowlers reduced England to 86/4. Then Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes came in to get England back on track, although with Buttler dismissed, it was left to Stokes to chase 46 from the final five overs. By the time we reached the final over, England and Stokes needed 15.
One six followed from the first three balls. Then, Lady Luck smiled down on England’s talisman. He attempted to run for two off the fourth ball and dived to make it back to his crease. As he did so, he inadvertently struck the ball with his bat and it rolled away for an extra four runs. England needed two from the final ball to win it. They got one. A Super Over beckoned.
That Super Over was equally as dramatic. Stokes and Buttler hit 15 while New Zealand needed just two runs from the final ball to win the World Cup, after Jofra Archer’s shaky start. We’ll let the legendary Ian Smith, on comms for this one, explain the rest:
“It's Archer to Guptill: Two to win. (Guptill hits the delivery) Guptill's gonna push for 2! They've got to go! It's [the ball] gonna...(Jason Roy fields) Roy's gonna go to the keeper's end...(Buttler takes the throw and downs the wicket) He's got it! England have won the World Cup! By the barest of margins! By the barest of all margins! Absolute ecstasy for England! Agony, agony for New Zealand!”
Sporting finishes don’t come any better than that.
Golden State Warriors v Cleveland Cavaliers - 2016
Steph Curry’s Golden State Warriors took on LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals back in 2016, and they certainly delivered on the big stage. NBA doesn’t usually have a traditional ‘final’, but instead the best of seven.
The Golden State Warriors had remarkably lost just nine games in the regular season as they topped the Western Conference while the Cavs weren’t quite as dominant in a competitive Eastern Conference. However, by the time they met in the finals, these two, led by their iconic stars, were at the top of their game.
After four games however, it looked as if the Championship was heading to San Francisco as Curry, helped by Draymond Green, took them into a 3-1 lead. But LeBron wasn’t finished there. He and Kyrie Irving hit 41 points each in game five to make it 3-2. Then, after racing into a 31-11 lead after one quarter, another 41 points from one of the all-time greats James saw them level the series.
Finally, NBA would get the one-off final these two great champions deserved. It was also the first time in history that both teams entered game seven level on points scored (610) after six games played. They were so evenly matched. The lead changed hands 20 times and although the Warriors were ahead by seven points at half-time, they couldn’t cope with the Cavs comeback.
They failed to score a basket in the final four minutes and ultimately it cost them, as James made a crucial block, before he scored a free throw with seconds remaining to clinch a 93-89 win. It was a remarkable finale to an epic series, as the Cavs became the first team to secure the title from 3-1 down.
Liverpool v AC Milan - Champions League Final 2005
We’ll finish with club football’s greatest final.
The Champions League is the pinnacle for clubs around Europe and in 2005, we got a stunning match in Istanbul. It featured the plucky underdogs Liverpool, against Carlo Ancelotti’s star-studded AC Milan, a side that featured Kaka, Hernan Crespo and Andriy Shevchenko.
They raced into a 3-0 lead with one of the all-time great goals after Kaka threaded a perfect ball through to Crespo to finish. At half-time, it looked like game over. As Rafa Benitez got confused about substitutions and put 12 counters on the tactics board at half-time, the Liverpool fans sang ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’.
Captain Steven Gerrard scored a header to drag his side back into the final, before Vladimir Smicer fired one in from range and then Xabi Alonso equalised after seeing his initial penalty stopped by Dida. It was a chaotic six minutes, but more was to come in extra-time.
Jerzy Dudek pulled off an outstanding, almost impossible, double save to keep his side in it, before his shaky legs during the penalties were enough to put off Shevchenko and secure Liverpool their fifth European crown. Remarkable.
