Argentina was led by Lionel Messi to World Cup victory on a night of great drama as his team defeated France on penalties following an exciting game that ended 3-3 at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar.
Due to a penalty kick from Messi and a goal from Angel Di Maria, Argentina exploded out of the gate to establish a two-goal lead in the first half.
Messi and Mbappe both scored again in overtime after two late goals from French forward Kylian Mbappe forced extra time.
Gonzalo Montiel scored the game-winning penalty kick in the ensuing penalty shootout, giving Argentina its third overall and first World Cup since 1986.
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It was misery for Didier Deschamps’ French team, which had hoped to retain the trophy for the first time since Brazil in 1962.
Penalties didn’t seem to be a remotely realistic prospect early on at the Lusail Stadium.
A sickness that had been spreading in the days before up to the game contributed to the French team’s extraordinarily poor performance in the first 45 minutes, during which time they failed to record a single shot (or even a touch inside the Argentine penalty box).
After Ousmane Dembele was found to have brought Di Maria down inside the area, possibly softly, in the 23rd minute, they were penalised for their poor start by losing on Messi’s penalty.
When Di Maria completed an exquisite move to shoot past French captain Hugo Lloris for Argentina’s second goal, it was a goal that was very much appropriate for the moment and put his team in a strong position to deliver their first World Cup victory in 36 years.
However, France would not give up as Mbappe’s late intervention forced extra time after he scored twice in the span of two minutes, the first coming from the penalty spot in the 80th minute and the second coming on an incredible half-volley soon after.
Messi and Mbappe each scored in extra time to force a shootout and force extra time. This brought the game to penalties.
Messi’s score came from close range as he turned in a shot to record his seventh goal of the tournament.
However, Mbappe did it again, scoring with ease from the spot after Montiel had forcibly stopped the French striker’s attempt inside the box with his arm.
With his late goal, Mbappe became the first player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final since 1966. It was his ninth goal in Qatar.
However, France lost the shootout, thus his valour was in vain.
As a result of Emiliano Martinez’s save of Kingsley Coman’s penalty attempt and Aurelien Tchouameni’s missed attempt, Montiel was tasked with taking the winning penalty for Argentina.
Argentina won the shootout 4-2 with a goal from Montiel to Lloris’ left, smashing the French record as the nation held its breath.
Argentina, led by Lionel Scaloni, lost their opening match in Qatar to Saudi Arabia shockingly, but they went on to win the tournament, becoming just the second team in history (following Spain in 2010) to do so.
Argentina has already ended protracted droughts in both the Copa America and World Cup under the leadership of Scaloni, 44, in the space of 18 months, and he made sure his name will be indelibly etched into the history of football.
Even Mbappe’s skill, which earned him the Golden Boot thanks to his eight goals, couldn’t save France from Argentina’s victory. Mbappe’s World Cup concluded in a sorrowful hug with French President Emmanuel Macron, who was entrusted with glumly handing the losers’ medals.
However, Mbappe will probably get more chances to play on the biggest platform in sport. And perhaps next time, Les Bleus will have a full roster at their disposal after injuries cost them some of their most famous players from the competition.
Moments after Montiel’s game-winning penalty, Messi was named the tournament’s player of the year and set the record for most World Cup appearances with 26 games played.
Messi announced that this would be his final World Cup when he was 35 years old. In the end, it was a fitting finish for a legendary athlete and cemented his place next to the late Diego Maradona in the pantheon of all-time greats.
