Show me a book that makes someone care about something that they don’t care about, or know much about, and you’ll show me a great book. Lionel Messi’s World Cup Triumph: History’s Greatest Games #1 takes that challenge and enthusiastically says “Goaaaaaal”, with as much enthusiasm and energy as fans would expect from the game. Yes, but the surprising part about Lionel Messi’s World Cup Triumph is that it takes one game from his career, the 2022 World Cup Finale, and infuses that, as well as his life, and the evolution of football itself into a graphic novel that entertains and makes you care.
You don’t engage in sports. Your student or child doesn’t watch sports; some kids just aren’t sports kids. We get that. However, a great story, especially a great non-fiction story, can transcend personal interest and become a catch-all, motivational tale. And darn if Lionel Messi’s World Cup Triumph doesn’t do just that, regardless of the audience’s awareness or interest in the world’s most popular game.
This is a graphic novel and its illustrations by Nate Sweitzer are kinetic, powerful and vibrant. They make ages eight and up turn the pages with excitement. It’s a book, yet many of the illustrations pop, zoom and run with speed that will make people who don’t care about football wonder why they held out this long before loving it. We all know the glib joke about football being slow, ending in a tie and not offering much excitement. I realize that what I just wrote is heresy to a large portion of the world, but some think that way.
Lionel Messi’s World Cup Triumph starts with our narrator introducing the 2022 World Cup Final between Argentina and France. France is the defending champion. Argentina has one of the world’s top football players, Lionel Messi. France has its own superstar in Kylian Mbappe. Messi is from Argentina, who is also home to Diego Maradona, a superstar from four decades ago. Forty years may seem like an eternity, but when you’re talking about national football pride it’s a drop in the bucket.
In the second chapter the narrator is announcing the 1986 Mexico World Cup Quarterfinal. Argentina and England are playing, with Maradona scoring the famous ‘Hand of God’. I had heard about this goal, but hadn’t seen it myself until curiosity got the better of me after reading this graphic novel. The book does a picture-perfect job of showing the goal, its controversy and the crowd reaction. Messi was born the year after that triumphant goal and Argentina’s celebration in winning their second World Cup.
How did football come to be ‘the world’s sport’? It had to do with its simplicity and the Great Depression. Messi went professional when he turned 13, but it meant that his family had to move to Barcelona. His skills got stronger and he competed in every World Cup since 2006. He’s also the first man to play in six World Cups. However, his ultimate goal was to win it for his home country, Argentina.
This all leads back to Qatar and 2022. The final game between France and Argentina compromises 40% of the book. It’s spliced up so that readers understand the history of the game, the world politics that helped shape it and why the rivalry between Mbappe and Messi matters. I’ve never seen a football match or a soccer game. I simply fall into the category of ‘not a sports guy’. This graphic novel makes me want to watch.
It made me want to watch so effectively that I researched the ‘Hand of God’ goal, as well as, the other classic moves from the 2022 championship. I’ve even watched some of the World Cup games from 2026. Who knew soccer, football could be this exciting? Actually, it’s safe to say that billions knew that it was this exciting.
What they may not realize is that the same excitement translates to a graphic novel. Lionel Messi’s World Cup Triumph kind of gives away who won the 2022 World Cup, but football fans already knew that. This graphic novel will make elementary age football fans want to read. Reading this book is effortless and enjoyable. It has a strong chapter-driven narrative with side quests that will entertain the ‘readers’ and surprise the ‘sports fans’.
History’s Greatest Games is a non-fiction graphic novel series that reminded us of Science Comics. That non-fiction graphic novel series was one that we really loved, but it was because we love science. Our reviews acknowledged that those books, as entertaining as they are, don’t bring many new people to the table. History’s Greatest Games brings new fans to the genre. If the next books in the series are as entertaining and well-done as Lionel Messi’s World Cup Triumph, then it’s a win/win for readers and sports fans.
Lionel Messi’s World Cup Triumph (History’s Greatest Games #1) is by Chris Barish with illustrations by Nate Sweitzer and is available on Abrams Fanfare, an imprint of Abrams Books.
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