Lionel Messi finished his fifth and final FIFA World Cup campaign by lifting the trophy for Argentina as the Albiceleste beat France in the penalty shootouts at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar on Sunday, December 18 to win the coveted prize after 36 years. In what has been called the final of all ages, Argentina were the worthy winner after taking the lead twice, but France proved that they were worthy opponents after Mbappe scored a hat-trick but in vain
Argentina's first-half domination
Argentina completely dominated the first half in the midfield, not letting their opponents get on the ball at all. The Albiceleste's control of the midfield finally paid off after Angel di Maria won a soft yet easy penalty for his team.
Attacking from the left, di Maria was adjudged to have been tripped by Ousmane Dembele as the Juventus forward charged into the penalty box. It was an easy call for the referee, who pointed straight to the spot. Messi, their usual penalty taker, took the ball and slotted it into the net calmly after sending France goalkeeper and skipper Hugo Lloris the wrong way in the 22nd minute.
The side going ahead first kept the pressure on their opponents and it was a tactic that worked out without a fault as the defending champions were pegged back for a second time in the 35th minute. Di Maria went from winning the penalty to scoring their second goal in the 35th minute as Argentina took a 2-0 lead.
It was an excellent counter-attacking move involving Messi, Julian Alvarez and Alexis Mac Allister from one end of the pitch to the other. Messi found Mac Allister with a pin-point and di Maria was there to receive the ball, find the goal with a finesse shot it beyond a helpless Lloris.
Move that changed the match
The, head coach Didier Deschamps made history by introducing two substitutions before the end of the first half after France became the first team ever to fail to have a shot during the first half of a World Cup final, forcing their head coach into a historic double change with Argentina 2-0 up.
Ousmane Dembele and Olivier Giroud were hauled off after just 41 minutes and were replaced with two attackers in Randal Kolo Muani and Marcus Thuram.
The second half was a drab affair until the 80th minute, when the substitutes made by Deschamps turned the game for the 2018 champions.
First, Kolo Muani, one of the infamous first-half subs, used his speed to beat the 37-year-old Nicolas Otamendi down the left flank, and was felled by the Benfica defender. Mbappe stepped up an powered the ball past goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, giving France a glimmer of hope. The Golden boy of France then completed a comeback of the ages just two minutes later.
Argentina were seemingly just 10 minutes from victory, but Mbappe had other plans. Messi lost possession in the Argentina half as substitute Kingsley Coman carried the ball to Kolo Muani, whose intelligent chip to Mbappe that saw him score a brilliant volley as the Frenchmen clawed their way back into tie.
Extra-time drama
Most extra times in major football tournaments are drab affairs. And this match was the same, except for the final 10 minutes which, once again, saw goals on either side of the pitch.
A sharp Lloris save in extra time was followed by a forward run from Lautaro Martinez, who played a clever one-two with Messi. An exchange of passes followed and Messi managed to bundle the loose ball over the line to give the Albiceleste the lead.
The goal was not enough however. With just four minutes left for Messi to lift the trophy, Gonzalo Montiel gave away a penalty in the 116th minute, and Mbappe sent Martinez the wrong way from the penalty spot, and to tie the game and send the match into penalties, the first shootout since the 2006 FIFA World Cup final between France and Italy.
Argentina win it in penalties
Hero against the Netherlands in the Quarterfinals, all eyes were on the Argentine goalkeeper. He got a hand on Mbappe's penalty, and but was unable to save the same. But he did save the penalty of Kingsley Coman before young gun Aurelien Tchouameni fired the ball wide.
For the eventual world champions, going from villian to hero, Montiel converted the winning spot-kick to clinch a 4-2 shoot-out success at the end of a thriller at Lusail Stadium.
