Eight years ago, one of the defining images of the 2014 World Cup was the sight of Lionel Messi's eyes locking onto the trophy as he made his way up the Maracana stands in the immediate aftermath of the final defeat to Germany.
As a diminutive number 10 blessed with otherwordly talent, the pressure to emulate Diego Maradona had long weighed on his shoulders and given that was followed by a disastrous 2018 tournament showing from Argentina, there was a sense that international football's most prized achievement would elude him.
However, as the former Barcelona forward prepares for his last World Cup, the consensus is growing that Messi and the Albiceleste have the tools to reclaim the trophy for the first time since Maradona inspired them to glory in 1986.
The Maracana, where Argentina's 2014 dream had fallen asunder, provided a major fillip last summer. Argentina's 28-year quest for continental glory in the Copa America came to an end when they defeated hosts and bitter rivals Brazil with captain Messi lifting the first major international honour of his career.
Buoyed by that triumph, Argentina go into the 2022 FIFA World Cup in excellent shape at the same time that Messi has returned to form in his second season at Paris Saint-Germain.
It all bodes well for a tilt at the World Cup, although the question of whether Messi's legacy would be tainted by not winning it is another matter in an era when the Champions League is regarded as more of an arbiter of quality than international football.
It's a subject, former Republic of Ireland cap Richie Sadlier pondered at the launch of RTÉ Sport's coverage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, when he will be among the panellists as 64 games will be broadcast live across RTÉ2, RTÉ Player and RTÉ News Channel.
"Just the image or the footage of Lionel Messi lifting the World Cup for Argentina, given all he's been through in his career, particularly with Argentina; all he's achieved in his club career and just the moments of unexplainable genius that he's produced countless times throughout his career; and for someone who's created so many of those moments as demonstrated beyond doubt his greatness, you will still hear people say that until he lifts the World Cup with Argentina, there's a question mark over him as to where he actually stands in the all-time list," Sadlier said.
"So if for no other reason than to shut them people up, I'd love to see Messi lifting the (trophy). He's with a team now that are on a 35-game unbeaten run, they've won the Copa America, they're much more settled and balanced team than they were - they were a basket case four years ago.
"None of those issues have followed them into this tournament so they could be the team. My heart wants Messi to win it and I think my head is going along with it as well with the squad and a fixture route that for me makes them favourites."
While Sadlier believes regular viewers of the Champions League will be in no doubt that Messi's legacy is largely complete, it's elsewhere that the World Cup shaped gap in the CV exists in the imagination.
"I think if you're Argentinian, I think the conversation still lacks that one thing and that's can he bring a trophy back," he said.
"And even the way I'm talking, like if it's a one-man job. Football is a team game, the World Cup is a squad game but because he has been so prominent and above everyone else he's played with in terms of his ability, if the team win we say it's Messi. If the team lose, it's said Messi's let them down or fallen short.
"But I think if you're Argentinian, they won it with Maradona playing and until they win it with Messi playing, Messi will always have that question to answer to the Argentinian fans. But to most of the rest of us, his greatness is so obvious and so repeatedly demonstrated consistently that there's nothing he still needs to do to prove himself to anyone."
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