The curtain rose on the 2022 World Cup final at the crack of dawn on Monday (19) as Argentina and defending champions France fought out a 120-minute thriller that ended in a 3-3 draw. In the penalty shootout, Argentina won 12-11 for the third time in its history. In this match, Argentina's captain Lionel Messi completed his last World Cup tournament. With his heroic performance, he finally fulfilled his dream of winning the World Cup and made a perfect curtain-raiser, whose achievement was on par with the late Argentine footballer Diego Maradona.
The game was Messi's 26th appearance in the final week, surpassing Germany's Matthaus as the player with the most appearances in a World Cup final week. The biggest surprise, however, was the return of veteran Angel Di Maria, who made up for his absence in the 2014 final due to injury. The French team continues to be led by the "three bases" - Kylian Mbappe, Kylian Mbappe and Kishavin - with the return of Rabiot and Umtiti, who were rested in the previous match.
The match started with Argentina taking the initiative and Di Maria in particular was very active. He first crossed the ball from the left, and then in a melee, Di Paolo seized the opportunity to shoot from a distance, which was blocked by Hua Lani. After that, Di Paolo returned the favor, but Di Maria's "private Q" right foot was too high. In the 23rd minute, the veteran forward was knocked down by Oswin Dibili, and the referee awarded a penalty kick, which Messi calmly put into the net, making him the first player ever to score in every stage of a knockout tournament in a final week (Round of 16, Round of 8, Round of 4, and the final). Argentina took advantage of the situation and in the 36th minute, Messi launched a counter-attack, Alex McAleese played a clever pass and the "Angel" Di Maria scored to make it 2-0. France decided to change their formation and brought on two strikers, Giorgio Mianni and Magus Dulin, but at half-time they still trailed by two goals.
In the second half, France regained more possession but not much offense, instead Argentina's counterattack was more threatening, but Di Paulo, Messi and Alex McAleese played failed to extend the score. France brought on Kynsley Gauvin again and Mbappe, who had been slumping, began to recover, putting a cold shot from outside the box high in the 70th minute. In the 78th minute, Goloumiani was violated by Odawendi in the penalty area and won a penalty kick, Mbappe hit the nail on the head to boost his morale. three minutes later, the striker scored a clever shot to make it 2-2, showing his new Ballon d'Or style. Toward the end of the game, Messi took a wild shot that was parried by Lloris, leaving him no choice but to play again in extra time.
In overtime, both teams played cautiously, with Argentina once again substituting striker Nadalu Martinez and midfielder Berlidis in the hope of strengthening the offense. Nadalu Martinez had two chances on his first entry but missed them both. He put Argentina back in front in the 108th minute when he played a great pass to Lionel Messi to fire in a close-range shot that crossed the goal line despite the presence of Zulis Goudi in goal, Messi's seventh goal of the World Cup. However, it didn't last long as France then won another penalty and Mbappe scored a hat-trick to tie the game at 3-3, leaving the two sides to settle for a penalty shootout.
Penalty shootout result (France shoots first):
French team
Kylian Mbappe Access
KINGSLEY GOWEN No Admittance
Oswald Dibilly No Admittance
Goloumiani.
Argentina
Lionel Messi.
Paul Debarna Enter
Berlitis
Gansha Road - Mundy Road Into
