The Albiceleste ended their 36-year wait to win the World Cup as Messi completed his trophy cabinet.
Argentina defeated France 4-2 in the penalty shoot-outs of the 2022 World Cup final. One of the most thrilling games in the tournament’s history saw the Albiceleste clinch the title in Doha.
Argentina are WORLD CHAMPIONS! 🇦🇷
France struggled to deal with Argentina’s heavy counter-pressing early on. The Albiceleste managed to circulate the ball with quick passes as they pushed for the opener.
Following a few missed chances, Argentina finally found a breakthrough in the 23rd minute. Following Angel Di Maria’s brilliant run into the box, Ousmane Dembele stopped him with a foul.
Messi then converted the spot-kick to register his sixth goal in the tournament. The Paris Saint-Germain star became the first player to score at every knockout stage of a single World Cup.
Argentina remained in charge of the game as France continued their struggle to create goalscoring opportunities. Following a brilliant counter-attack, Angel Di Maria doubled Albiceleste’s lead in the 36th minute.
France finished the first half without registering a single shot. Les Bleus’ poor attacking performance convinced Didier Deschamps to replace Dembele and Olivier Giroud with Randal Kolo Muani and Marcus Thuram in the 41st minute.
Argentina continued dominating the game at the beginning of the second period. France, however, managed to slowly find their feet in the game after the hour-mark.
Deschamps brought in Eduardo Camavinga and Kingsley Coman, who significantly increased the pace of France’s attacks.
The Blues’ efforts finally paid off when a foul on Kolo Muani convinced the referee to award France a penalty. Kylian Mbappe converted the penalty to bring his side back into the game.
The PSG superstar then shocked Argentina by completing his brace only a minute later. Following a cross from Thuram, Mbappe smashed the ball past Emiliano Martinez with a wonderful volley to make it 2-2.
Argentina saw their two-goal lead go up in smoke as France pushed to complete their comeback. However, they had no luck in finishing off the game before the extra time.
The Albiceleste re-established their dominance over possession when the extra time started. Lautaro Martinez missed two golden chances, but Messi was there to put Argentina ahead once again.
A rebound from Martinez’s shot found Messi, who touched it home in the 108th minute. Dayot Upamecano thought he had cleared the ball off the line, but the goal stood after a quick VAR check.
France immediately started their efforts to snatch their third equalizer and finally did so in the 118th minute. Mbappe completed his hat trick to take the game to the penalties.
It was then Emiliano Martinez’s turn to once again win a crucial match for Argentina in the shoot-outs. The Aston Villa keeper saved Kingsley Coman’s shot before Aurelien Tchouameni’s effort went wide.
Gonzalo Montiel scored Argentina’s fourth shot as they claimed the World Cup trophy with a 4-2 win in the penalties.
France failed to defend their title after a nail-biting contest that saw Messi finally claim the World Cup trophy.
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