Argentina Beat France in Dramatic Penalty Shootout to Win World Cup Title

Argentina Vs France FIFA World Cup  Final-  As Argentina defeated France on penalties in a World Cup final to remember on Sunday, Lionel Messi capped off his illustrious career with a victory. Argentina won 4-2 after Kylian Mbappe’s hat trick guaranteed the game finished equal after extra time.

Argentina beat France on penalty kicks in FIFA World Cup Final.

Argentina won the World Cup for the third time thanks to Gonzalo Montiel’s successful penalty kick, depriving France of the opportunity to win the championship for the first time in 60 years.

But in a game that finished 3-3 after extra time, Messi and Mbappe both lived up to their reputations, with Messi scoring twice and Mbappe becoming the first player to score three goals in a World Cup final since England’s Geoff Hurst in 1966.

Midway through the first half, Messi had opened the scoring from the penalty spot, and in the 36th minute, Angel Di Maria doubled Argentina’s advantage after a stunning counterattack.

However, the incredible Mbappe gave the winners new life when he scored twice in the last ten minutes—once from the spot and once in an amazing manner to force overtime.

When Messi converted a rebound in the 109th minute, it seemed that Argentina had won the match for good. However, Mbappe scored from another penalty kick to tie the score at 3-3 and force a shootout.

Messi and Mbappe both converted their first penalties in the third World Cup final penalty shootout, but Kingsley Coman’s second attempt for France was saved, and importantly, Aurelien Tchouameni missed the mark.

France lost the World Cup final on penalties for the second time in five tournaments, after Italy in 2006, and Argentina won the tournament for the first time since 1986.

Despite Mbappe’s best efforts, they concluded the tournament as the tournament’s top scorer with eight goals, one more than his Paris Saint-Germain colleague Messi; this will be remembered as Messi’s tournament. The victory enables Messi, at 35, to close his great career by imitating Diego Maradona.

Mbappe hat-trick

A virus had jeopardized France’s bid for history in the days preceding the final, and they were lethargic before Argentina took the lead.

When Ousmane Dembele struck Di Maria in the penalty area, France was forced to give up a penalty for the fourth time this tournament.

Messi stepped up to convert the penalty for the fourth time in Qatar, tying Pele’s record with 12 World Cup goals.

The defending champions did not make the anticipated comeback, as Argentina extended their advantage in the 36th minute.

As he broke through the center, Messi and Julian Alvarez let free Alexis Mac Allister, and he sent a first-time ball to the back post for Di Maria to score.

Injury prevented Di Maria from playing much in the knockout stages, but he was back here and looked emotional as he celebrated his goal, a World Cup final classic.

Deschamps replaced Olivier Giroud and the struggling Dembele before the half despite France having not even attempted a shot.

As Mbappe moved toward the center of the attack, Randal Kolo Muani and Marcus Thuram entered the game.

Argentina go up by 2-0 in the first half.

In their previous World Cup final success 36 years before, Argentina had infamously wasted a two-goal lead before ultimately winning, but there didn’t seem to be much chance of it happening this time.

However, with 10 minutes remaining, the French were offered a glimmer of hope when Kolo Muani was hauled down by Nicolas Otamendi, earning them a penalty.

Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, stood up as Mbappe slammed the penalty shot into the goal. France was optimistic, and they were on equal footing in another minute.

In the moments before Mbappe connected with Thuram and responded to his partner’s knockdown with an incredible volley, Coman had just stripped Messi of possession.

The French players on the bench sprinted across the field to celebrate with their colleagues in what will go down as one of the most spectacular World Cup scenes ever.

Messi scored early in the second extra session after Lautaro Martinez’s effort was stopped, giving Argentina, who lost 2014 final in overtime, the appearance of victory again.

However, Mbappe once again rescued France as he successfully scored a penalty after Montiel was fouled.

Argentina required a great Martinez stop from Kolo Muani to force penalties when Montiel’s strike proved the game-winner and set off wild celebrations throughout Argentina.

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