DOHA — Lionel Messi crowned his glittering career with
victory in the World Cup on Sunday as Argentina beat France on penalties in a
final for the ages, triumphing 4-2 after Kylian Mbappe’s hat-trick ensured the
game ended level following extra time.
Gonzalo Montiel rolled in the deciding penalty to give
Argentina their third World Cup and prevent France becoming the first team in
60 years to retain the trophy.اضافة اعلان
Argentina’s forward #10 Lionel Messi (right) celebrates with
teammates after Argentina won the Qatar 2022 World Cup final.
But a truly remarkable game saw Messi and Mbappe both live
up to their billing, with Messi scoring twice and Mbappe becoming the first
player since England’s Geoff Hurst in 1966 to net a World Cup final hat-trick
in a game that ended 3-3 after extra time.
Messi had opened the scoring from the penalty spot midway
through the first half before Angel Di Maria doubled Argentina’s lead at the
end of a brilliant counter-attack in the 36th minute.
But the astonishing Mbappe breathed life into the holders as
he pulled one back from the penalty spot with 10 minutes to go before
equalizing in stunning fashion just 60 seconds later to force extra time.
Messi then seemed to have decided the contest in Argentina’s
favor once and for all when he converted a rebound in the 109th minute, only
for Mbappe to net from another spot-kick, bringing the game level at 3-3 and
forcing a shoot-out.
Argentina’s forward #10 Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup
trophy after receiving the Golden Ball award during the Qatar 2022 World Cup
trophy ceremony after the football final.
The third World Cup final penalty shoot-out started with
Messi and Mbappe both scoring, but Kingsley Coman’s next kick for France was
saved and Aurelien Tchouameni then crucially missed the target.
It is the second time in five World Cups that France have
lost the final on penalties after they were beaten by Italy in 2006, and it is
Argentina who are champions for the first time since 1986.
Fans of Argentina react while watching the live broadcast of
the Qatar 2022 World Cup final football match between France and Argentina at
the Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The win allows Messi, at 35, to complete his glorious career
by emulating Diego Maradona, and this will be remembered as his tournament
despite the best efforts of Mbappe, who finished as the tournament’s top scorer
on eight goals, one more than his Paris Saint-Germain teammate Messi.
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