ATLANTA — An Atlanta soccer star is making history as Argentina clenches the World Cup title in an overtime shootout, beating France 4-2 on Sunday.
Among the team is Thiago Almada, the first player in Major League Soccer history to appear for Argentina in the global competition and is the first active player from Atlanta United to represent his country at a World Cup.
Now, Almada is the only active Major League Soccer player to win a World Cup.
The midfielder was added as a late replacement to team back in November.
Almada had caught the eye of Argentina's coach earlier this year. He was called up to Argentina for a pair of friendlies in September and made his senior international debut on Sept. 23.
The 21-year-old's performance in the win over Honduras even earned praise from Argentina captain Lionel Messi, according to an Atlanta United news release.
“Thiago is very fresh. He’s a very fast player who can play 1v1. He's clever and isn’t afraid of anything," Messi said after the Honduras match in Miami.
The World Cup champions will earn $42 million in prize money for their soccer federation while the losing team in the final will get $30 million from a FIFA prize fund of $440 million.
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