The game went to penalties after a stunning 120 minutes of football, with Argentina dominating for the first 80 minutes before the 23-year-old superstar from France took matters into his own hands to drag France to the brink of the tournament, finally falling to a dominant Emi Martinez. Gonzalo Montiel scored the clinching penalty kick as Argentina won after a 3-3 draw.
Messi had to share the spotlight with his Parisian teammate Kylian Mbappe in what could be the 35-year-old’s final game in Argentine colours. From scoring the first and third goals to being a key part of the team’s second goal, the Paris Saint Germain player did everything to deny his club teammate football’s biggest honour. But Mbappe wasn’t far behind, scoring a hat-trick in 120 minutes of football – the first hat-trick in a final in 56 years – single-handedly turning the match around in France’s favour before it went to a shootout.
Messi has finally achieved what Maradona did in 1986, dominating a World Cup for Argentina. It means that after his record 26th World Cup match, at the fifth and final time of asking, Messi finally claimed the trophy that he and his nation demanded, lifting him up alongside Maradona.
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