Argentina defeated France 4-2 in a penalty shoot-out to win the football World Cup 2022. Argentina captain Lionel Messi scored twice and France striker Kylian Mbappe hit a hat-trick as a thrilling World Cup final finished 3-3 after extra time at the Lusail Stadium (Qatar).
Mbappé was defending France’s 2018 win at the tournament in Russia, Messi was playing in his final World Cup match, looking to claim the trophy which has eluded him for so long and which would enable him to match Diego Maradona’s achievement of winning the 1986 competition.
Gonzalo Montiel, a substitute from Argentina, scored the game-winning penalty kick to end the agonising shootout loss for the reigning world champions France in a night of remarkable high drama.
France had fought back from 2-0 down and 3-2 down in extra-time to make it 3-3 and take the game to penalties. The Argentinians looked to be cruising to victory until Mbappe scored twice in the 80th and 81st minutes to level it at 2-2.
Hugo Lloris of France deflected Lautaro Martinez's effort, but Messi scored from close range to give Argentina a 3-2 advantage in extra time. France appeared to be the more likely team to continue and win the game. But there was more drama two minutes from the end of extra-time when Montiel conceded a penalty for handball. Messi’s Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Mbappe stepped up to score from the spot for the second time to take the game to penalties.
Both Mbappé and Messi scored in the shootout but in the end – with France missing two penalties – Argentina won the title. A long wait came to an end when Argentina won the World Cup for a third time (after 1978 and 1986), 36 years since their last triumph.