Lionel Messi has signed off from the FIFA World Cup as a winner at Qatar 2022 – but in a dramatic game, it went all the way to a penalty shoot-out.
Messi's Argentina clinched their third World Cup trophy from six final appearances in history on Sunday (18 December), seeing off France 4–2 on penalties (3–3 after extra time) to win the biggest prize in men's football – with the legend himself getting on the scoresheet twice.
The triumph is Argentina's first World Cup title since Mexico 1986, and ends French hopes of becoming just the third country to successfully defend the trophy.
In a match dominated in the build-up by attention on Messi and his Paris Saint-Germain teammate Kylian Mbappé of France, it was Messi's experience that ruled the day – although Mbappé also netted twice in two minutes late in the second half to force extra time, before completing a World Cup Final hat-trick in the extra period to force the shoot-out.
Mbappé became just the second man in World Cup history to score a hat-trick in the final after Geoff Hurst in 1966 and won the Golden Boot for top goalscorer (8 goals), but ended up on the losing end.
For his part, Messi's double saw him finish the tournament on seven goals – but more importantly, sign off from his World Cup career with a winner's medal.
It was a slow burn of a World Cup final, with almost one-way traffic in Argentina's favour for much of the game.
As a spectacle, the first 79 minutes were nothing to shout about. France had been dealing with a virus in the team camp in the lead-up to the final, and given the way they played for most of the game, it appeared to have affected them.
Les Bleus did not look like the vibrant, positive side they were throughout the tournament; Argentina on the other hand started brightly going forward and were rewarded 21 minutes into the contest.
A pattern had been building: get the ball wide out left to Ángel di María and let him trouble the French defence. And so it proved on this occasion, with Ousmane Dembélé looking very much like a winger out of position as he clumsily tripped his opposite number.
Messi – who else – stepped up to convert the resulting spot-kick, becoming the first man to score in every round of a FIFA World Cup since the round of 16 was introduced.
It didn't take another 15 minutes for a lacklustre France to find themselves two down as they were caught on a fast-moving counter-attack. Messi played a delicious through ball in to Alexis Mac Allister, who smartly squared it across the penalty box to Di María, who made no mistake past Hugo Lloris in the French net.
When Di María was taken off in the 64th minute, he received a hero's ovation from the Argentina fans in the crowd and his teammates on the bench.
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France's awful first half was summed up five minutes before half-time, as Deschampshauled both Dembélé and Olivier Giroud off in a rare first-half double substitution.
The 2018 champions finally began to show some signs of life midway through the second period, with their first shot on target coming 67 minutes into the contest. Mbappé's first real touch of the ball followed four minutes later, when he worked enough space for himself to get a shot off at Emiliano Martínez's goal – but the Argentinian goalkeeper was untested as it sailed over the crossbar.
Argentina seemed to take their feet off the gas in the second half, yet all the while still controlling the game and keeping possession of the ball. However, that was their undoing.
Things changed when Nicolás Otamendi hauled down Kolo Muani in the penalty area in the 80th minute, Mbappé stepping up and just barely squeezing the ball into the net through the hands of Martínez, who had guessed the right way and gotten a touch to it.
Revitalised by the smallest of glimmers of hopes, France regained possession almost immediately from the restart – with Messi at fault for losing possession. The ball found its way to Mbappé – who else – who volleyed past Martínez to level the match and quieten the Argentinian fans who had created almost all the noise in the stadium for the prior hour.
Suddenly it was Argentina on the ropes as France pressed, with La Albiceleste looking increasingly ragged and worried with every French attack. Martínez was called upon to save his team's blushes in stoppage time, producing a big save from point-blank range as the defending champions looked for a winner.
Messi nearly had the final say in the seventh added minute, firing a fierce shot from outside the box which Lloris palmed over the bar. However, extra time was now inevitable.
France looked a completely different team, and that carried over into extra time. Argentina continued to find themselves on the back foot – although, unlike France in the opening 80 minutes, they did have their chances going forward.
Substitute Lautaro Martínez had perhaps the best of them, having been played in for a one-on-one chance that he scuffed wide right before the whistle to end the first extra period.
Lautaro Martínez was instrumental again after the break, staying onside from a Messi pass before firing a shot at Lloris that the French netminder could only palm back to the latter. While the ball appeared to be cleared off the line, goal-line technology indicated that Messi had once more put Argentina ahead.
But there was another twist to come – GonzaloMontiel blocking an Mbappé shot with his elbow in the area in the 117th minute. Mbappé calmly stepped up, went the opposite way to his first penalty, and sealed his hat-trick to once more level the game.
The two Martínezes were then involved in a frantic final minute of added time, with Emiliano making a big stop to deny Muani before, at the other end, Lautaro flashed a header wide with just Lloris to beat.
The match had gone from a dull affair to a classic World Cup final – and now penalties awaited, to be taken in front of the Argentina fans.
Mbappé took the first and – just like his first goal of the night – Emiliano Martínez got a hand to it, but not enough to keep it out. Messi responded with a cool, calm penalty rolled just out of Lloris's reach.
Kingsley Coman was the first to miss, with his attempt – France's second – saved by a diving Emi Martínez low to his right.Pablo Dybala responded with a shot straight down the middle to give Argentina the lead once more.
Aurélien Tchouaméni then put his spot-kick wide past the left post, and whenLeandro Paredes scored, all the pressure was on Muani.
Muani powered it home down the middle, leaving the shoot-out in Montiel's hands.
He calmly sent Lloris the wrong way – and the celebrations could begin.
