Argentina are World Cup winners for the third time, with Lionel Messi driving the Copa America champions to magnificence, following a penalty shootout succeed toward the end of an extraordinary final against France in Qatar on Sunday.
Kylian Mbappe became only the second player to score a hat trick in the World Cup final, surpassing Lionel Messi’s two goals in the match. However, despite his goals helping France win 3-3 in extra time, Kingsley Coman and Aurelien Tchouameni missed shots in the shootout, resulting in Argentina’s victory in Lusail.
Lionel Messi’s unbelievable career is now finished. The Argentina captain finally has a World Cup medal in addition to the Champions League, domestic championships, and cups he won with Argentina in 2021, as well as the Copa America.
Messi did everything in his power to bring Argentina the long-awaited glory, scoring two incredible goals in a dramatic final and winning a penalty in the shootout. As the tournament’s best player, he also took home the Golden Ball.
A World Cup victory is now on Messi’s resume. However, Messi’s most significant accomplishment is that no one will ever be able to point to the one major trophy that he has not won. In the same way that Maradona did in Mexico in 1986, he has not only lifted it now but also driven and inspired Argentina to success.
Qatar 2022 was clearly Messi’s tournament. He has scored in every game since Argentina’s victory over Poland in the group stage, when he had a penalty saved by Wojciech Szczesny, and he has performed to the best of his ability whenever the team has needed him to make a difference.
He scored big goals against Mexico and Australia, amazing assists for Nahuel Molina and Julian Alvarez against the Netherlands and Croatia, respectively, and in the final against France, he scored a first-half penalty to help Argentina win.
In every way, it has been Messi’s ideal tournament. the ideal addition to an unparalleled career.
Lionel Messi’s club career has resulted in a long list of awards, but the Argentina captain has now won the nation’s highest honor. Meanwhile, Mbappe’s splendor was insufficient for France. He has won one World Cup for France, and he almost won another against Argentina by himself.
The Paris Saint-Germain star scored twice in the final 10 minutes of the game in 97 seconds to give France a lifeline after falling behind 2-0 in the first half. In extra time, he added a third goal to complete his hat trick. However, despite Mbappe’s heroics, France was unable to become the first team since Brazil in 1962 to win two World Cups simultaneously. Mbappe also scored from a penalty kick in the shootout.
It was a remarkable feat for Les Bleus to be able to come back from two goals down to send the match to penalties despite the fact that the France team was infected with a virus prior to the game. Due to their inability to train on Friday, Raphael Varane, Ibrahima Konate, Dayot Upamecano, Adrien Rabiot, and Kingsley Coman started the game. Varane, Upamecano, and Rabiot started the game.
Until Mbappe scored a penalty in the 80th minute, the team’s lack of motivation was evident for the majority of the game. Deschamps substituted Olivier Giroud and Ousmane Dembele before the break in the first half, and the second half was not much better. Even one of the tournament’s players, Antoine Griezmann, was unable to finish the game, and Deschamps replaced him with 20 minutes left.
Mbappe was close to leading his team to glory, but he was unable to lead France to victory. He now possesses the unenviable distinction of completing a hat trick in a World Cup final while still losing.
By defeating France, the World Cup champions, Argentina brought an end to South America’s 20-year World Cup drought in Qatar.
They have ended the tournament’s dominance by Europe. Since a South American nation won the World Cup, Italy, Spain, Germany, and France have all done so. Only Argentina made it to the final in 2002, and that was in 2014.
The influence that Argentina had both on and off the field during the World Cup in Qatar should help the South American challenge for the right to host the event in 2030.
The most number of South American fans have been in Qatar. It is a football-mad region, and Messi’s team’s victory in this tournament only made it more likely that Argentina and Uruguay will co-host the World Cup in 2030, 100 years after Uruguay beat Argentina 4-2 in the inaugural final as hosts in Montevideo.
It was Messi’s first goal or assist in a final during his senior Argentina career. His punishment was the 6th to be taken in a men’s Reality Cup last (barring shootouts). Antonio Cabrini’s goal against West Germany in 1982, which Italy still won, was the only one not converted.
Every one of the three of Argentina’s goals were scored by players aged 34 years or more older (Di Maria 34, Messi 35). Nils Liedholm, who played for Sweden in 1958 and scored 35 goals, and Zinedine Zidane, who played for France in 2006, were the only players of that age to score in a World Cup final. Lionel is the second-oldest person to score in a World Cup final, behind only Liedholm (35 years, 264 days), who scored against Brazil in 1958. Lionel is 35 years, 177 days old.
In the history of the men’s World Cup, France is the first team to make multiple first-half substitutions in the championship game. Only one other team used a first-half substitute in a World Cup final: Italy in 1982; Brazil and Italy in 1994; Germany in 2014; and Italy in 1982.
With his most memorable goal, Kylian Mbappe turned out to be just the second man to score in consecutive World Cup finals, after Brazil’s Vava in 1958 and 1962. With his second, Mbappe became the first player since Brazil’s Ronaldo in 2002 to score eight World Cup goals.
It was the first time that goals had been scored in a men’s World Cup final in a span of just one minute and 37 seconds. Mbappe scored both goals.
This was the eighth men’s World Cup final to go to additional time, with just two of the past seven going to penalties. However, as many times as in the 20th century, it was the fourth World Cup final to take an additional 30 minutes in the 21st century (2006, 2010, 2014, and 2022).
With his third goal, Mbappe became only the second player since Geoff Hurst for England in 1966 to score a hat trick in a World Cup final. He also won the World Cup Golden Boot as top scorer with eight goals.
This World Cup has seen the most goals ever, with 172 goals scored. Between 1998 and 2014, 171 scores were recorded.
Messi has won multiple competitions in which he has participated. He has only participated in one competition, the Coupe de France, in which he has not won a trophy.
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