With goals from Argentine captain Lionel Messi and French striker Kylian Mbappe, the World Cup final at Lusail Stadium ended in a thrilling 3-3 tie after extra time.
Lionel Messi’s glittering career came to an end when Argentina defeated France 4-2 on penalties in a World Cup final unlike any other. After extra time, the game would be level due to Kylian Mbappe’s hat trick. Gonzalo Montiel’s winning penalty saved France from becoming the first team in 60 years to win the World Cup, giving Argentina their third title. On the other hand, Messi and Mbappe put on a remarkable performance, scoring twice and becoming the first player since England’s Geoff Hurst in 1966 to score a hat trick in the World Cup final, which ended 3-3 after extra time.
Angel Di Maria’s brilliant counterattack in the 36th minute doubled Argentina’s lead after Messi scored from the spot midway through the first half. On the other hand, the extraordinary Mbappe gave the hosts hope when he scored from the spot with 10 minutes remaining and then scored again in stunning fashion 60 seconds later to force extra time.
Argentina appeared to have won decisively in the 109th minute when Messi converted a rebound. Mbappe, on the other hand, scored once more from an extra shot to win the shootout and tie the score at three.
In the third World Cup final, Messi and Mbappe scored the first goal of the penalty shootout. Aurelien Tchouameni essentially missed the objective, however Kingsley Coman’s resulting France kick was saved.
After losing to Italy in 2006, France has lost the World Cup twice in five attempts, while Argentina has been champion since interestingly around 1986.
Because of the victory, Messi, who plays for Paris Saint-Germain and is 35 years old, can follow in the footsteps of Diego Maradona and finish his glittering career with eight goals—one more than his teammate. Mbappe failed miserably in his efforts. His tournament will always be remembered.
A virus posed a threat to France’s attempt to make history in the days leading up to the final, and they appeared sluggish before Argentina won.
After Di Maria was brought down by Ousmane Dembele, France conceded a penalty for the fourth time in this tournament. Despite this, Messi persevered and scored from the spot for the fourth time in Qatar, earning him his twelfth World Cup goal and joining Pele in that category.
Argentina expanded their lead in the 36th moment after the reigning champs neglected to answer in the normal way. With the assistance of Messi and Julian Alvarez, Alexis Mac Allister broke through the middle and played a first-time ball to the back post for Di Maria to finish.
Di Maria had barely advanced past the first round due to injury; When he got back, he talked about how great his last Reality Cup goal was. Because France had not scored before the break, Deschamps made a move to bring on Olivier Giroud and the struggling Dembele in his place. Marcus Thuram and Randal Kolo Muani followed Mbappe into the heart of the attack.
- Argentina loses by two goals – Overall, Argentina lost by two goals in their most recent World Cup victory. However, it appeared unlikely that that would occur again.
In any case, when Kolo Muani was brought close to Nicolas Otamendi and the French won a penalty kick 10 minutes later, they were suddenly trusted.
After Mbappe won the goal-directed penalty kick, France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, stood up. France had hope, and in another minute, they were level. Coman took possession of Messi before Mbappe found Thuram and scored a stunning volley in response to his partner’s knockdown. The French bench players’ dash across the field to join their teammate in celebration was one of the World Cup’s most dramatic moments.
After Lautaro Martinez’s shot was saved in the subsequent additional time span, Messi circled back to an objective constantly to give Argentina, who had lost the 2014 match aft in additional time, the benefit. In contrast, Mbappe saved France once more by converting Montiel’s handball into a penalty kick. Argentina required a splendid save from Kolo Muani from Martinez to compel an extra shot since it was start to finish. The wild Argentinians celebrated Montiel’s crucial kick.