World Cup: Messi finally wins the trophy
The Argentine football team won its third star on Sunday, beating its French counterpart in the final of the 2022 World Cup in a penalty shootout (4-2) after a match that ended in a three-goal thriller at the Lusail Stadium in Doha.
The first half of the final, officiated by the uncompromising Polish referee Szymon Marciniak, ended with two clear goals in favour of the Argentines.
Argentina opened the scoring through Leo Messi from the penalty spot in the 23rd minute and fourteen minutes later former Merengue star Angel Di Maria doubled the lead for the Albiceleste in the 37th minute.
After the lemon break, Parisian Kylian Mbappé brought France back into the game after reducing the deficit from the penalty spot within a minute (80′) and equalising in the 81′.
After a first period of extra time that did not see any change in the scoreline, the inevitable Léo Messi scored his second goal of the match and tripled the lead for his team in the 108th minute.
Just when everyone thought the game was over, it was Mbappé again who popped up to score a hat-trick and give Les Bleus another chance to equalise. The Parisian striker scored a penalty, his second of the match, in the 118th minute of play, two minutes from the end of an unpredictable and stunning final.
In the fateful penalty shoot-out, the Argentinian players scored all their shots, while their French opponents missed two. Bavaria’s Kingsley Koman and Madrid’s Aurélien Tchouaméni both missed.
This means that Argentina have won their third world trophy after the 1978 and 1986 editions and the lost finals of 1930, 1990 and 2014. The Albicelete would have won three finals and lost as many.
As for their opponent of the day, France, they lost their second final after that of 2006 and their two titles in 1998 at home and in 2018, failing to win their second title in a row to equal a performance, the work of Pele’s Brazil alone in 1958 and 1962.
Miss OLY
