Overview
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On Sunday, December 18, the finals of the Fifa World Cup 2022 exploded like a firework to provide the ultimate conclusion that Lionel Messi is the greatest of all time.
This match had everything. A rivalry of superstars, nerve-wracking penalties, iconic goals, and masterclass goalkeeping skills build up to Lionel Messi’s crowning as a world champion. Sports stars worldwide were starstruck and had experienced a ‘sitting on the edge’ performance at Lusail Stadium, Qatar.
As the final began, France barely got time to sniff as Argentina took just four minutes to have their first shot on target through Alexis Mac Allister and went on to break down the confidence of the defending champions.
Messi’s first goal came in the 23rd minute of the match when he scored a marrow penalty by taking a 1-0 lead for Argentina. Ahead of the time in the 36th minute of the game, Angel Di Maria doubled the score with a beautiful assist by Alexis Mac Allister, passing from the Argentine backline all the way to the attacking third led by France.
And after some time of attempting from both teams, it ended up as a half-time. But Kylian Mbappe, a 24-year-old French soccer player, and the team were in a muddle and had not been in the opposition’s box for more than 30 minutes.
In between, there were few substitutions made by both teams. After half-time, there were no shots on targets from France or Argentina, and they were cruising with a score of 2-0, whereas on the other side, reporters around the globe stated, “the game is over.”
But the drama had not even started.
France was not putting their best until they outstretched to the opposition box, but Nicolas Otamendi (Argentine player) played a foul against Randal Muani. Taking advantage of this situation, Mbappe scored a magnificent penalty and brought France into the 80th minute of the game.
Argentina hardly took a breath about the situation, and once again, Mbappe scored a goal with a stunning volley in the 81 minutes of the game, which leveled up the score by 2-2, which included extra time.
But as they say, ‘it was Messi’s night,’ and after frequent tries in the 108 minute, Messi scored a beautiful goal by restoring Argentina’s lead.
Whereas Mbappe was also not done yet, his hat-trick goal came in around the 118th minute of the match. As a result, he was honored as the second player to score a hat trick goal in the World Cup Finals after England’s Sir Geoff Hurst in 1966, who scored three goals in the finals.
After the full time, both the teams were at 3-3, and now it was time for the penalty shootout. The first penalty was scored by Messi, which was a goal; further, Mbappe came in, and he too scored. Down the line, the penalties were heading next to the neck, but nearly at the 4th penalty shoot, France missed the chance, and in the end, Argentina scored the final goal and were established as winners of the Fifa World Cup 2022.
Since the last world cup won by Argentina was in 1986 in the presence of Diego Maradona, this is the first after 36 years for Argentina and the final and most memorable world cup for Lionel Messi. He proved himself all the way from losing their first match against Saudi Arabia to winning the cup against the defending champions.
“I have the best feelings ever. However, the most important thing is how we achieved this,” Messi concluded while holding the cup for the last time beside his team. And also Messi was honored with black robe defining the respect and dignity that he has provided to the game.
