After an intense match that ended with a close penalty shootout, Argentina have won their 3rd World Cup. It has been 36 years since they last won a World Cup.
The match started with Argentina dominating possession, and the first few minutes of the game was played in the French half. In the 21st minute of the game, Argentina was awarded a penalty due to a tumble caused by Ousmane Dembele. Lionel Messi stepped up and scored the opener of the match with ease.
Argentina showed some amazing teamwork in the 35th minute with beautiful passes from Messi to Julian Alvarez and then to Alexis Mac Allister. When it looked like Mac Allister would be surrounded by France’s defenders, he passed the ball to Angel Di Maria at the right moment, and Di Maria scored the team’s 2nd goal.
The first half ended with Argentina leading 2-0. France had a mountain to climb and it wasn’t until the 79th minute that they were able to get on the board when they were awarded a penalty. Kylian Mbappe stepped up and scored France’s first goal with a superb penalty to the bottom left corner. A minute later with a great assist from Marcus Thuram, Mbappe crashed the ball across Emi Martinez and scored the equaliser.
The game went into extra-time. In the 107th minute, Lautaro Martinez had a shot on goal but Hugo Lloris managed to block the ball. However, the ball fell to Messi and he managed to squeeze it across the line despite Dayot Upamecano’s best efforts.
With time running out, France pressed forward in search of a equaliser and were rewarded in the 118th minute as France got another penalty. Mbappe stepped up and scored the team’s third goal. He is the first man to score a hat-trick in the World Cup final since Geoff Hurst in 1966.
In the final minutes of the game, Randal Kolo Muani nearly scored another goal for France, but Emi Martinez denied him. With the score ending 3-3, the match went into a penalty shootout.
Argentina won in the end 4-2, scoring all four of their attempts while France failed on two as Kingsley Coman (saved) and Aurelien Tchouameni (wide) could not convert. Argentina not only bagged the World Cup but took home individual awards as well. Enzo Fernandez won the Best Young Player award, Emi Martinez won the Golden Glove award and Lionel Messi won the Golden Ball award for best player of the tournament.
