Lionel Messi basked in glory as Argentina defeated France to win the FIFA World Cup 2022 final, at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar on Sunday. Ahead of the final, the Argentina captain had announced that he would retire after the match, but since clinching the trophy, he has made a u-turn on that decision with the aim to play as a world champion for his country.
In what turned out to be a tightly-contested final, Argentina first took the lead in the 23rd-minute with Messi capitalising on a penalty after Angel Di Maria was fouled in the box by Ousmane Dembele. Then a quick counter in the 36th-minute saw Messi flick a ball past his marker to pick out Alexis Mac Allister’s run. The Brighton midfielder surged into the box, before squaring it to Di Maria, who beat a rushing Lloris with a bottom corner finish to make it 2-0 for Argentina.
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With the CONMEBOL side cruising to a win, Kylian Mbappe had other plans and brought France back into the game with two goals in 97 seconds. In the 80th-minute, the PSG star converted a penalty to make it 1-2 after Kolo Muani was brought down in the Argentine box. Then the 23-year-old made it 2-2 with a stunning volley in the 81st-minute.
With the match entering extra-time, both sides began to look for a winner and it looked like Messi found it for Argentina, tapping it in after a deflection off Hugo Lloris to make it 3-2, after a quick VAR check ruled in his favour in the 108th-minute. But Mbappe once again came to his side’s rescue in the 118th-minute, converting another penalty in the 118th-minute after Gonzalo Montiel saw a shot by the Frenchman hit his arm. After Mbappe’s hat-trick, the score read 3-3 and it entered the penalty shootout. During the shootout, goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez came out on top with stunning saves to block Aurelien Tchouameni and Kingsley Coman’s efforts. Gonzalo Montiel converted the winning penalty as Argentina won 4-2 in the shootout.
After the match, Messi was applauded by Argentine supporters and also had his Diego Maradona moment, getting carried on the shoulders with the World Cup trophy. The same was done to the Napoli legend after he led Argentina to victory in the FIFA World Cup 1986 final. Here is the photo, which has gone viral:
Messi also received the Golden Ball, awarded to the best player. Meanwhile, Martinez was awarded the Golden Glove for best goalkeeper and Enzo Fernandez was adjudged as winner of the Best Young Player award. Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappe received the Golden Boot, after finishing the top-scorer for eight goals.