Lionel Messi finally had his World Cup wish as he inspired Argentina to their third title after an epic and sapping 120 minutes of engaging football. Messi who had won everything in football except the World Cup title gave his country a reason to believe as France searched for their true identity. Argentina’s dominance was rewarded with a penalty in the 20th minute when Ousmane Dembele tripped Ángel Di María in the box, Messi sent Hugo Lloris the wrong way to calm Argentina nerves. In the 36th minute, Di Maria found the back of the net and doubled his side’s lead following a crucial counterattack involving Messi, Julián Álvarez and Alexis Mac Allister. Argentina managed the first well. But French striker Kylian Mbappe had other ideas in the second half he turned the game on its head with two quick goals. One from the spot and the other an excellent first time volley, which Emiliano Martinez had no answers for. It was a stunning moment for the Argentine players and their fans, they potentially saw the World Cup trophy slipping out of their hands.
But Messi scored from a counterattack in the extra time and just when Argentina were getting set to run down the clock Mbappe stepped forward again to score from the spot after Gonzalo Montiel handled the ball in the box. Mbappe became the second man to score a hat-trick in the world cup after Geoff Hurst of England in the 1966 final. France missed two of their shots, While Argentina made no mistake.
