Lionel Messi walked up the steps at the Maracana. It was at the end of 120 minutes of Sunday's gripping World Cup final and the Argentine was collecting a revered golden trophy, one befitting his status as the greatest player of his generation.
The 10-man shortlist is dominated by Argentina and Germany, with 4 Germans, 3 Argentines, and one player each from Brazil, Colombia and the Netherlands.
It may be anathema to most Brazilians, but Neymar has expressed his wish for Argentina to be World Cup champions on Sunday.
Hair artist and master barber Rob Ferrel, known as "Rob the Original", cuts the likeness of Argentine soccer ace Lionel Messi into the hair of a customer.
Lionel Messi fell, then jumped back to his feet with a little help from the gentlemanly Swiss player who had knocked him down. This happened all afternoon, because Argentina is still a one-man show at this World Cup attracting all of every opponent's attention.
Argentina took 118 minutes to break down stubborn Switzerland then survived an extraordinary, heart-stopping finale before reaching the World Cup quarter-finals after a dramatic 1-0 win on Tuesday.
Star Argentinean footballer Lionel Messi Wednesday became his country's fifth top scorer at a World Cup, after scoring two of three goals to defeat Nigeria 3-2 at the 2014 Brazil World Cup.
Germany's unexpected 2-2 draw with Ghana in the second round of Group G matches came under suspicion of match fixing after British betting company William Hill reported unusual betting patterns and warned of possible Asian match-fixers. All about World Cup
Lionel Messi scored at the start and end of the first half as Argentina beat Nigeria 3-2 in a thriller on Wednesday to top World Cup Group F.
Lionel Messi scored a stunning second-half goal to push staggering Argentina to a 2-1 victory over Bosnia Sunday at the Maracana in the Group F opener for both teams.
Goals by Rodrigo Palacio, Javier Mascherano and Maxi Rodriguez led Argentina to a 3-0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago in a World Cup warm-up Wednesday.
When the dust settles on Wednesday's shock Champions League exit at the hands of Atletico Madrid, one question on the lips of many Barcelona fans will be: where was Lionel Messi?
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