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Messi-led Argentina win epic World Cup final vs France on penalties
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The win gave Argentina their third World Cup win

Argentina won the stunning 2022 World Cup final against France, beating the defending champion during a penalty kick shootout after the teams reached full time with a 3-3 tie on Sunday.

The win gave Argentina their third World Cup win and provided a fitting finale for captain and talisman Leo Messi — the most revered player of his generation and arguably the best footballer ever.

The match had ended 2-2 after 90 minutes, and 3-3 after extra time, with Messi scoring twice for Argentina, and Kylian Mbappe of France netting a hat-trick. Argentina won the shootout 4-2.

Tens of thousands of fans flooded the streets of Buenos Aires in a sea of sky-blue and white to celebrate the win — Argentina’s first since 1986.

Messi gave Argentina the lead from the penalty spot midway through the first half, after a clumsy trip by French winger Ousmane Dembélé brought down Angel Di Maria.

Argentina had enjoyed the better of the opening exchanges, and dominated possession.

Lively Di Maria doubled the lead barely 10 minutes later, deftly finishing off a rapid Argentina counter-attack. He wiped away tears on his way back to the half way line for the restart.

French coach Didier Deschamps responded with a double substitution on 39 minutes, bringing on Roland Kolo Muani and Marcus Thuram, son of Deschamps’ teammate Lilian Thuram from the World Cup-winning side of 1998.

France, after struggling with an outbreak of flu in the days leading up the final, were poor for much of the game. They failed to register a single attempt on goal until midway through the second half.

But, with just over 10 minutes to go, a dramatic comeback began when Argentina defender Nicolás Otamendi pulled down Kolo Muani, giving France a penalty.

The 23-year-old Mbappe netted from the spot, taking the tie to 2-1, and then put France level less than two minutes later with a pinpoint volley into the bottom corner, leaving Argentina stunned.

Both sides pressed for a winner, but the game moved into extra time.

Well into the extra half-hour, Messi edged Argentina into the lead, tapping in a rebound after a save by French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.

Messi-led Argentina win epic World Cup final vs France on penalties 1

But a handball in the Argentina box with just minutes left gifted France a second penalty. Mbappé scored to complete his hat-trick, the first in a World Cup final since 1966, the spot-kick securing him the tournament’s Golden Boot.

In the shootout, Argentina goalkeeper Emi Martinez saved Kingsley Coman’s penalty, while Aurélien Tchouameni fired his effort wide. Argentina scored all four of their attempts while Martinez was named keeper of the tournament.

Messi, named player of the tournament, was making his 26th appearance in a World Cup match, a record, in front of almost 89,000 fans inside Lusail — most of them supporting Messi’s Albiceleste.