Rafael Nadal ecstatic over Argentina’s win at FIFA World Cup, congratulates Lionel Messi & team for beating France

Rafael Nadal expressed his excitement over Argentina's historic win over France at the 2022 FIFA World Cup on Sunday. It came down to the wire after a score of 3-3 at the end of extra time, following which Argentina won 4-2 in the penalty shootout.

The French side played a top-level game in the thriller of a match as their star Kylian Mbappe became the first player to score a World Cup final hat-trick since 1966. However, it was football legend Lionel Messi who scored 2 goals and another in the shootout to lift his first World Cup title.

Nadal took to social media to share his excitement. He shared a poster of the World Cup featuring Messi, adding that he was happy for his Argentinian friends.

"Congratulations Argentina!" he posted in celebration of their win. "Happy for so many Argentinian friends. Enjoy it champions."

Screen grab from the World No. 2's Instagram

He also expressed his admiration for the French side, who were on the up until the last minute. He posted a picture of Mbappe celebrating a goal by looking up at the energized French fans in the stands.

"Great World Cup France. Allez," he wrote.

Screen grab from the Spaniard's Instagram

A Messi fan, he also shared a picture of Casper Ruud and himself on-court during their Latin American exhibition tour in Argentina where they were presented with the team's jersey with Messi's No. 10 and their names.

Screen grab from Nadal's Instagram

Rafael Nadal to begin his 2023 season by leading the Spanish team at United Cup

Rafael Nadal in action at the 2022 ATP Finals in Turin

Rafael Nadal will be participating next at the 2023 United Cup, which will be held in Australia from December 29 to January 8.

The reigning Australian Open and French Open champion had a terrific start to the year. However, after an abdominal tear at Wimbledon, the World No. 2 took time to recover completely and post-US Open, suffered a 4-match losing streak. He now seems to have found his footing again with a win in the ATP Finals against Casper Ruud in his final match of the season.

The mixed ATP-WTA tournament would give him a chance to play against top contenders like Nick Kyrgios and Dan Evans, who represent Australia and Great Britain in Group D along with Spain.

The tournament will most likely help players fine tune their game right ahead of this year's first Grand Slam in Melbourne, which the 22-time Grand Slam champion will be hoping to do as well.