By a Staff Reporter
The Argentian supporters went into the could 9 as the La Albiceleste outplayed the Reigning Champions France 4-2 on penalties to take the World Cup trophy home for the first time in 36 years.
In a closely contested battle, both teams gave it their all, with France putting up a strong fight against their opponent. However, it was Argentina who ultimately emerged victorious on the shootouts.
It took Lionel Scaloni’s side 23 minutes to break the deadlock. Dembele brought Di Maria down inside the box in the 21st minute of the match, which earned Argentia the spot kick. Messi then made no mistake from the spot in the 23rd minute to score his 6th goal of the ongoing World Cup.
Di Maria doubled the La Albicelestes lead in the 36th minute. Messi flicked the ball past his marker to find Mac Alister and Alister drove the ball into the box before Di Maria tapped in to double his side’s lead.
The second half saw both teams trading blows, with chances coming at both ends of the pitch. But with just an interval of a minute, Kylian Mbappe delivered a moment of magic, scoring twice to bring France back into the title race.
Otamendi dragged the substitute Kolo Muani down inside the box, who stepped into the field in the 41st minute replacing Dembele. Mbappe then smashed the ball in the bottom left corner to pull one back in the 80th minute of the match.
Mbappe then scored his brace just 97 seconds after pulling one back to take the match all square. Coman won the ball back from Messi on the halfway and found Thuram on the left hand side. Thuram crossed the ball in, and Mbappe hit the volley to level the score in the 81st minute.
The final of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 went into extra time as both teams scored 2 each before the regulation-time whistle. Messi’s tap-in crossed the goal line in the 108th minute which confirmed Argentina into the lead for the second time.
Kylian Mbappe completed his hat trick as France came back into the game once again. Coman’s shot hit Montiel’s hand when he tried to block the ball. Mbappe then gave Emiliano Martinez no chance from the spot.
The 120 minutes of the final showdown got nothing to separate, and took the game into the penalty shootout. Kingsley Coman and Aurelien Tchouameni missed the penalty back to back to end France’s dream to defend the title.
With Mbappe converting the first penalty for France, Argentian custodian Martinez saved Kingsley Coman shot and Aurelien Tchouameni fired the ball wide. Moreover, Argentina’s Messi, Paulo Dybala, Leandro Paredes, and Gonzalo Montiel found the net from the spot.
The celebrations were wild at Lusail Stadium as Argentina lifted the trophy, with fans and players alike reveling in the historic win. It was a well-deserved victory for the team, who have consistently performed at a high level throughout the tournament.
Beginning the World Cup with a tragic 1-2 loss over Saudi Arabia, Argentina didn’t look back from then onwards. The title contenders, stunned Mexico 2-0 and Poland 0-2 to march on to the RO16. Knocking out the Asian side Australia, Argentina qualified for the QFs.
Argentina then knocked out the Netherlands from the penalties (4-3) to go through the semifinals. It scored 3 past Croatia to limit the 2018 runners-up journey only to the semis of 2022 and confirmed its spot in the finale of the 22nd edition of the most prestigious football tournament.
