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Argentina beat France 4-2 on penalties following a pulsating 3-3 draw after extra time to win the FIFA World Cup at the Lusail Iconic Stadium on Sunday (December 18).
Argentina were rampant from the starting whistle and allowed France no time to settle. The defending champions looked completely clueless as Lionel Messi and co. appeared on a mission. La Albiceleste were awarded for their persistence when Ousmane Dembele clipped Angel Di Maria, which led to Messi opening the scoring from the spot.
With France still recovering from their initial jitters, Di Maria piled on their misery to double Argentina's advantage. The Juventus forward capped off a beautiful team move, finishing past Hugo Lloris after receiving an inch-perfect layoff from Alexis Mac Allister on a counter.
The game looked settled with ten minutes left when Kylian Mbappe reduced arrears from the spot to give the French hope. The Paris Saint-Germain starlet scored from the spot following Nicolas Otamendi's foul on Kolo Muani. Only a minute later, Mbappe restored parity, smashing home beautifully to give Martinez no chance following a great pass from Marcus Thuram as extra time ensued.
Messi tapped in from close range following some nervy defending by France to restore La Albiceleste's lead. Once again, France fought back. After Mbappe's shot hit Gabriel Montiel' hand, Les Bleus received a penalty, and up stepped the Frenchman to beat Martinez from the spot once again and complete a brilliant hat-trick.
Seconds before extra time, Martinez pulled off a brilliant save on Randal Kolo Muani who seemed destined to score the winner. That would prove to be key as the game went into a shootout.
The penalties started on an even note with Mbappe putting France ahead and Messi responding in kind for Argentina. However, things went south for Didier Deschamps' men, as Kingsley Coman and Aurelien Tchouameni missed their attempts.
After Paulo Dybala and Leandro Paredes converted their efforts, Gonzalo Montiel's attempt ended Argentina's 36-year wait for the World Cup title. That also meant France narrowly failed to become the first team in 60 years (Brazil 1958, 1962) to successfully defend their title.
On that note, here's a look at the five biggest talking points from the game:
#5 Kylian Mbappe's special performance goes in vain
Kylian Mbappe came to the fore when his team needed him the most. The 23-year-old pulled off a miraculous comeback, scoring twice in two minutes. He scored the third in extra time to complete his hat-trick as Les Bleus roared back into the contest.
After looking subdued in the opening half, Mbappe burst into life late on. He himself revived his side's hopes and single-handedly dragged them into the shootout, where he converted his effort. It was the first World Cup final hat-trick in nearly six decades (Geoff Hurst for England in 1966).
Mbappe bagged the World Cup Golden Boot for his tally of eight goals in the tournament, but back-to-back World Cup wins wasn't to be, as Argentina had the last laugh.
#4 France got it all wrong in a nightmarish first half
France looked scrappy at the start, and Argentina made them pay. The South Americans were in complete control and ran riot. Lionel Scaloni's troops had most of the possession and seemed like the only side likely to score.
Ousmane Dembele conceded a penalty from which La Albiceleste went ahead. Post Messi's opener, Les Bleus failed to muster a response and were caught on the counter as they went into the break two goals down.
#3 Emiliano Martinez's heroics win it for Argentina
Emiliano Martinez had a night he will remember for the rest of his life. The 30-year-old denied Kingsley Coman in the shootout moments before making a fabulous save in the dying minutes of the game to fend off Kolo Muani.
Martinez was calm in the shootout and effectively got into the minds of the opposition players. He deservedly won the Golden Glove for being the best goalkeeper in the tournament, winning two shootouts.
#2 Didier Deschamps makes inspired substitutions
Following a horrendous first-half display, Didier Deschamps rang the changes for the defending champions.
He took off Ousmane Dembele and Olivier Giroud in the 41st minute in favour of Randal Muani and Marcus Thuram. It was quite a bold move to bench two experienced players and bring on fresh legs before half-time, but Les Bleus desperatedly needed to change things up, being two goals down.
France didn't make a single attempt on goal in the opening half. The newly introduced duo completely changed the dynamics of the game in the second half as Deschamps was vindicated when things threatened to go south.
#1 Dream comes true for Lionel Messi and Argentina
What a dreamy run for La Pulga it was. Lionel Messi could not have asked for any better way to bid adieu to the FIFA World Cup. The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner scored a brace and also converted his kick in the shootout to guide his nation to their third World Cup triumph.
In the process, Messi shattered multiple records. He became the first player to win the World Cup Golden Ball twice. He also became the only player to score in each round of the World Cup knockouts in its current format and also win the Man of the Match in every game.
Moreover, in his record 26th World Cup game appearance, Messi became the player to win the most Man of the Match awards (5) in a single campaign as he completed his set of major trophies across club and international football.
Messi led from the front, scoring seven times and providing three assists in seven games, as La Albiceleste became the kings of the world after nearly four decades.
