Argentine superstar Lionel Messi will retire from international football a happy man after he led his country to a 4-2 win over France on penalties to win the 2022 FIFA World Cup trophy at the Lusail Iconic Stadium in Lusail, Qatar, on Sunday evening.
This was the first time the Argentines won the World Cup in 36 years. Argentina are also the first South American team to win the World Cup trophy since Brazil beat Germany 2-0 during the 2002 Korea/Japan tournament.
The match, which was played in front of a capacity crowd, was decided on penalties after the two sides drew 3-3 in two hours of football.
The Argentines took the lead when Messi sent France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris the wrong way from the penalty spot in the 23rd minute. This was Argentina’s 150th goal in the World Cup tournament.
The South Americans were awarded a penalty after Ousmane Dembele had fouled Angel di Maria inside the box.
This was the 35-year-old Messi’s 12th World Cup goal and his sixth in this tournament. Messi became the first player to score in all rounds of the World Cup – from the last-16 to the final.
Argentina doubled their lead when Di Maria beat Lloris to make it 2-0 after he received a pass from Alexis MacAllister in the 36th minute.
French superstar Kylian Mbappe cut the deficit after scoring from the penalty spot in the 80th minute. The penalty came after Nicolas Otamendi had fouled Kolo Miami inside the box.
Two minutes later, Paris Saint Germain star Mbappe equalised when he netted his seventh goal of the tournament.
The White Sky Blue restored their lead after Messi scored his 98th goal for the Argentines and his seventh of the tournament in the 109th minute. Messi has now scored 13 World Cup goals.
Just as the Argentines thought they had it in the bag, they gave away a penalty, which was converted by Mbappe to make it 3-3 after Gonzalo Montiel had handled inside the box in the 118th minute.
Mbappe became the first player to score a hattrick in a World Cup final since 1966 when Geoff Hurst scored three times in England’s 4-2 win over West Germany.
