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Finally, Messi Lifts the World Cup, Beating France in a Worthy Thriller through Penalties

Finally, Messi Lifts the World Cup, Beating France in a Worthy Thriller through Penalties

The Final of the FIFA World Cup 2022 had Messi fans on their toes after Mbappe scored 2 goals back to back in the second half. However, the G.O.A.T. didn’t let his fans down by leading his team to the world cup victory. From Emiliano Martinez as the goalkeeper to Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria, everyone played a part in making Argentina clinch the trophy from the defending champions.
This victory ended the 36-year wait for the Albiceleste for the World Cup trophy. In over 120 minutes of an absolute classic, Argentina defeated France 4-2 on penalties. The game advanced to penalties after both the teams locked horns with a 3-3 level.
Lusail Stadium saw an absolute see-saw battle between the defending champions and the team of G.O.A.T. Lionel Messi. Argentina clearly had a fluent lead in the first half with 2 goals from Angel Di Maria and a Messi penalty. But the second half belonged to France, specifically Mbappe. Kylian Mbappe scored his first in the game with a penalty. The second goal came minutes later, in the 108th minute, with a brilliant set-up and shot.
The match ended with a 2-2 level on the scoreboard. In the extra time, Messi shot another classic to take Argentina to a 3-2 lead. Mbappe again took the charge and converted another penalty to level the score 3-3 in the 118th minute.
Finally, the match entered the penalties to find the winner. Mbappe and Messi converted the first penalty shoot each for their respective teams. But then, Emiliano Martinez worked brilliantly to save penalty shots while Argentina players converted every shot to claim the victory.
The FIFA World Cup 2022 final saw many records broken and re-written. Here’s a quick look at the stats:
  1. The Albiceleste won the title in 1986. This victory ended the 36-year wait for the team.
  2. Lionel Messi won his maiden World Cup title. With this, he has emulated Daniel Passarella and Diego Maradona who won the titles in 1978 and 1986 respectively.
  3. This victory makes Argentina the fourth team to win at least three World Cup titles. Brazil leads the list with five titles while Italy and Germany follow with four titles each.
  4. Argentina is also the first South American team to be the World Cup winner since 2002 (Brazil). This ended Europe’s hegemony during which European teams Italy (2006), Spain (2010), Germany (2014), and France (2018) won the titles.
  5. Also, Argentina is the first South American team to beat a European opponent in the World Cup final after Brazil beat Germany in 2002.
  6. Argentina now has a 3:3 win:loss ratio at the World Cup finals with victories in 1978, 1986, and 2022. The team lost the finals in 1930, 1990, and 2014.
  7. Lionel Messi’s World Cup career ended with this match that turned into his life’s biggest trophy and victory. He also won the “Golden Ball” and “Player of the Match.”
  8. Messi recorded the most appearances (26) in World Cup, surpassing the record of Germany’s Lothar Matthaus.
  9. Since 1982, Messi is the only player to win the Golden Ball award twice. He stayed just one goal behind Mbappe for the Golden Boot award.
  10. Messi scored the most goals in a World Cup edition with 7 goals. He previously scored 5 goals in 2014.
  11. With a brace versus France in the final, Messi surpassed Pele’s record for most World Cup goals scored. He equalled the record of 13 World Cup goals by France’s Fontaine. The record for most goals (16) is held by Germany’s Miroslav Klose followed by 15 goals by Brazil’s Ronaldo Nazario, and 14 goals by Germany’s Gerd Muller.
  12. It’s only the second time for France to end as runners-up. Previously, France lost to Italy in penalties in 2006 to finish second.

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