Lionel Messi basked in glory as Argentina defeated France at the Lusail Stadium on Sunday, to win the FIFA World Cup 2022 Final. The Argentine captain claimed the only trophy left for his cabinet and did it in a tight-contested match.
Messi first gave Argentina the lead in the 23rd-minute via a penalty after Angel di Maria was fouled in the French box. Then a quick counter saw Di Maria make it 2-0 for Argentina in the 36th-minute. With the CONMEBOL side cruising to victory, Kylian Mbappe changed the entire scenario with two goals (80th and 81st-minute) in 97 seconds, to make it 2-2.
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In extra-time, with both sides seeking a winner, Messi scored in the 108th-minute to make it 3-2 for Argentina. But Mbappe struck once more in the 118th-minute to complete his hat-trick and to level proceedings once more. With the score reading at 3-3 in the end of extra-time, the match entered penalties, where Emiliano Martinez came out on top. The Aston Villa goalkeeper denied Aurelien Tchouameni and Kingsley Coman as Argentina grabbed a 4-2 win in the shootout.
After the match, Messi shared an emotional moment with his mother, who rushed to him and grabbed him while he was looking in another direction. Within a split second, they began to hug and Messi’s mother could be seen crying.
Here is the video:
Meanwhile, he was also spotted getting emotional with his wife Antonela Roccuzzo and children. Here are the videos:
Argentina have now won the World Cup for a third time (also 1978 and 1986), 36 years since their last triumph. Only Italy (44 years from 1938 and 1982) have ever had a longer gap between winning two World Cups.
