Why Argentina’s win over France was the greatest World Cup final ever

The clash of two stars

This match was designed as Kylian Mbappé vs. Messi, the 23-year-old French star is poised to challenge his 35-year-old team-mate at Paris Saint-Germain for best player to the world.

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Mbappé defended France's victory at the 2018 tournament in Russia Messi played in his last World Cup match trying to claim the trophy that has eluded him for so long and which would allow him to equate Diego Maradona with winning the 1986 competition.

The first 79 minutes was all about Messi. The Argentina captain converted the penalty to give Argentina the lead. His skillful touch was then key to driving the game that led to the Albiceleste's second goal.

Then towards the end of regulation time, Mbappé single-handedly took control, scoring two goals in two minutes and sending on the final into extra time.

Messi seemed exhausted and Mbappé seemed to be picking up steam.

Except the little Argentine came next, scoring his second goal of the game and restoring his team's lead in the 109th minute.

Refused to accept defeat to accept, and Mbappé encouraged his teammates and scored a second penalty to earn his hat-trick and take the final to a penalty shootout.

Both Mbappé and Messi scored within the gunfight however in the finish – with France missing 2 penalties – it absolutely was the Argentina captain who was mobbed by his teammates as his tournament dream was lived come in real time.

Over two hours of soccer, these was two players – at two totally different points of their careers – demonstrating the attractive game in vivid, superb method

From the start

The last time a World Cup final ended on penalties was in 2006 when France were beaten again, this time by Italy.

Sometimes It seems unfair to decide a game in a penalty shootout, a series of actions between the penalty taker and the goalkeeper.

However, Sunday's abundance of penalties at the Lusail Stadium seemed to add pressure and excitement

Messi's first-half penalty gave him his first goal in a World Cup final, while his
th shoot-out penalty was coolness personified.

Mbappé's ability to successfully converting from the point not once, not twice, but three times in a game showed great common sense.

Big Goals

World Cup finals are often close and cautious affairs, with goals at stake in prize money.

Argentina and France have both overdone that playbook: you have scored six goals, two of which were of the highest quality.

Argentina's second goal was arguably as good as Carlos Alberto's impressive goal in the 1970 World Cup final in Brazil's 4-1 win over Italy.

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It was in the 35th minute when a corner kick from Alexis Mac Allister to Messi eased the pressure on Argentina's defense in the
, while France pushed for an equaliser.

After Messi's skillful touch Argentina scored through Julián Álvarez and Manchester's superbly weighted pass from the City striker to Mac Allister, who had continued his run.

Selflessly, Mac Allister had the presence of mind to deflect the ball to Ángel Di María, who completed a brilliant counterattack to make Argentina 2-0.

It looked like the culmination of a dominant Argentinian win then, until Mbappé showed up.

After his penalty, he reduced the deficit to 2-1, a clean double with Marcus Thuram sending the ball from the sky onto the PSG star on the edge of Argentina's box.

With seemingly all the time in the world, Mbappé gave a wonderful display of technique and time to smash the ball past a despondent Martinez.

These are the moments that capture the imagination in
and the moments that defined the 2022 World Cup final.

He will be remembered for many reasons - Messi's historic moment, Mbappé's hat-trick in the loss , the game's seesaw, which swayed from end to end, constantly tugging at the emotions of the stunned viewers

Other great World Cup finals

Of course, there is a lot of competition for the title of “best World Cup final”.

In 1950, Uruguay defeated Brazil in Rio de Janeiro , while four years later West Germany delivered another big upset by defeating the magical Magyars of Hungary and giving the country its first World Cup title.

Geoff Hurst scored the first hat-trick in the 1966 World Cup final between England and West Germany. Hurst
's second goal is still being talked about 56 years later: Did the ball cross the line? It did, according to match officials, and England won 4-2.

The 1970 final marked Pelé's last World Cup appearance, as Brazil's fearless victory over Italy secured his third title.

Four years later, hosts West Germany arrived in Munich from behind to defeat a star-studded Dutch team of Johan Cruyff and Johan Neeskens 2-1 to win their second World Cup.

Like Messi in Qatar 2022, Diego Maradona almost single-handedly led his team to their second title in eight years when they defeated West Germany 3-2 in the
final.

In 1998, France hosted and won their first World Cup, thanks in large part to brilliant goalscorer Zinedine Zidane twice in the final to beat an impressive Brazilian team of Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Cafú, Bebeto and Roberto Carlos.

However, with its multiple storylines and the drama and artistry on display, it certainly is masterpiece vo n 2022 is now titled 'the best f final of the World Cup'.

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