Argentina are 2022 World Cup champions for the third time after beating France on penalties in the final in Qatar.
Gonzalo Montiel scored the winning spot-kick to give the South Americans a 4-2 victory in the shoot-out, after a frenetic game ended 3-3 after extra time.
Lionel Messi scored twice and Angel di Maria netted for the Argentines, while France’s Kylian Mbappe became the first player since Geoff Hurst in 1966 to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final.
Argentina eventually triumphed to seal their third world title, with Messi crowning an extraordinary career by lifting the golden trophy at Lusail Stadium.
Here is the tale of a remarkable football match, told through the best pictures from the final…
After 63 games in just under a month, the 2022 World Cup final came down to Argentina v France at Lusail Stadium. Following the closing ceremony, the main event began…Argentina started strongest and were awarded a penalty on 23 minutes when Ousmane Dembele fouled Angel di Maria. Up stepped Messi, who gave his country the leadArgentina doubled their advantage in the first half, Di Maria completing a swift counter-attack with a fine finish past Hugo Lloris. At this stage, the South Americans appeared to have one hand on the trophy…After failing to have a single shot until the 67th minute, Kylian Mbappe gave France hope from the penalty spot after Nicolas Otamendi fouled Randal Kolo MuaniHope turned into jubilation when Mbappe slammed a volley past Emi Martinez to make it 2-2. The striker’s first two goals were separated by just 97 secondsThe game went to extra time, and it appeared Messi had won it for Argentina – again – when he forced the ball over the line after Lloris had saved a Lautaro Martinez shot. Jules Kounde’s attempts to clear were in vainBut France, and Mbappe, were not yet beaten. A shot was blocked by an Argentine arm, so up stepped the PSG star to make it 3-3……and become the first male player for 56 years to score a World Cup final hat-trick. After three penalties in 120 minutes, the game was to be decided by a shootout.Mbappe and Messi took the first penalties and both scored. Then up stepped France’s Kingsley Coman – who was denied by Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano MartinezFrance were left up against it when their third taker, Aurelien Tchouameni, put his penalty wideIt fell to Gonzalo Montiel, a 90th-minute substitute at right-back, to take the decisive penalty – he sent Lloris the wrong way to seal a 4-2 shoot-out winMontiel covered his face with his shirt as the emotion hit following his winning penalty, before he was mobbed by ecstatic team-matesMessi was named player of the tournament and given the Golden Ball award. However, there was only one golden prize he had his eyes on…This was Argentina’s third World Cup triumph, after 1978 and 1986. It comes a little over two years after the death of Diego Maradona, who starred in the latter of those two triumphsOn Sunday night, Messi was on top of the world
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