It is not just hard work, I mean of course you need to have hard work there is no denying that but you also need to have some god given talent as well and your physical shape should be working towards being a good football player too.
Like I am not entirely sure if anyone over 7 feet tall could ever be a good football player, could be good but not a legendary one, it requires a limit, somewhere at the bottom like Messi or at the top like Haaland would be max amount. All in all some players are born with some extra talent than others, and you can't change that and then you have the ones that take that god given talent and work super hard on top of it to become legends.
Besides talents and shape, there is also a mysterious element that take one side or another to the perfect opportunity of scoring in field. There are so many variables that the game isn't exclusively about technique, but also about luck or something similar, that can't be explained. Because how could Saudi Arabia overcome Argentina, and Argentina still reach the finals and win the Cup, if it were all about technique?
There is so much adrenaline and uncertains during the match and players still position themselves in perfect spots to receive the ball and shoot directly to the goal in a second or less. I mean, they don't program anything, it just happens.