Yesterday in Qatar, Messi led Argentina to their third World Cup victory, securing the title he had been lacking in his football career.
The South American nation defeated France 4-2 in penalty shootouts after 120 minutes of regular and extra time in the majestic Lusail Stadium which resulted in a 3-3 draw.
Kylian Mbappe’s hat trick in the final, bringing his tournament total to eight goals, was not enough to secure the French men a back-to-back victory at the World Cup, having won the 2018 edition in Russia.
Gonzalo Montiel converted the game-winning penalty kick to give Argentina a 4-2 shootout victory at the conclusion of a thrilling match.
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Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, who saved Kingsley Coman’s shot and saw Aurelien Tchouameni miss the target in the shootouts, merited the honor of Tournament’s Best Goalkeeper. France had previously lost the 2006 World Cup final penalty shootouts against Italy in the tournament’s edition hosted by Germany. The setback also prevented them from joining Uruguay and Brazil as the only countries to win the World Cup in consecutive years.
On a day when nearly every one of the 88,966 people in the Lusail Stadium was rooting for Argentina, in part due to Messi sentiments, it was the Albiceleste who jumped out to a two-goal lead to set the tone for an expected easy evening.
Messi started the scoring, while Angel Di Maria scored the Albiceleste’s second goal following a brilliant counterattack. Messi comfortably defeated Hugo Lloris from the penalty spot in the 21st minute after Ousmane Dembele collided with Angel Di Maria inside the penalty area.
Messi was also involved in the second goal scored by Di Maria, which was spectacular. He flicked a pass in the direction of Julian Alvarez, who then assisted Alexis Mac Allister in finding Di Maria on the opposite side.
Nonetheless, Mbappe rescued the Les Blues after 80 minutes of play in the tense match.
He scored a second goal less than two minutes later to equalize the game at 2-2 and then poured ice-cold water on the Argentine fans, who had turned the game into a carnival.
Mbappe’s penalty kick in the 81st minute aided France’s comeback from a two-goal deficit in regulation, as they attempted to become only the third team ever to successfully defend the trophy. When Nicolas Otamendi brought down Kolo Muani, he scored.
Didier Deschamps made a double substitution before halftime, bringing in Marcus Thuram and Randal Kolo Muani, who had a significant impact on the game.
Messi again appeared to have won it for Argentina in extra time when he reacted quickest to a saved Lautaro Martinez shot, only for Messi’s Paris Saint-Germain teammate Mbappe to equalize with a penalty after his strike struck Montiel on the arm.
In the subsequent penalty shootouts, Martnez, the goalie for Argentina, blocked Kingsley Coman’s shot, while Aurelien Tchouameni missed the target. Messi, Paulo Dybala, L. Parades, and Gonzalo Montiel all scored to earn the Albiceleste its third World Cup championship.
Messi slumped to the ground in ecstasy as he realized he had achieved his lifelong goal of winning World Cup gold. He was joined in his celebration by other Argentina players and officials.
They had previously won the championship in 1978 and 1986.
