FIFA World Cup: Kylian Mbappe wins the Golden Boot, and Lionel Messi grabs the Golden Ball
After a spectacular display by both sides in the blockbuster final match of the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar, Argentina seized the trophy, thanks to an unrelenting performance by Lionel Messi and his men.
Mbappe wins Golden BootMessi now holds the Golden Ball award, while his teammate Enzo Fernandez holds the Best Young Player award. Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez was awarded the Golden Glove award, and France's Kylian Mbappe received the Golden Boot award.
Messi scored a brace in the final in Doha, increased his tally to seven goals this tournament, and netted once again in the penalty shoot-out where Argentina beat France 4-2 after the match ended in a 3-3 draw.
Kylian Mbappe was another top contender for the ball, but he walked away with the Golden Boot for being the tournament's leading scorer, having scored eight times.
The forward scored a hat-trick in the thrilling World Cup final that challenged Argentina's fast-paced attack and almost thwarted their bid to win it for the third time.
The match went into extra time after the French rebounded from two goals down to draw level at 2-2. Messi netted a 23rd-minute penalty, and Angel Di Maria scored the second goal for Argentina.
The defending champions retaliated in the second half as Kylian Mbappe swept home an 80th-minute penalty and then equalised with an outstanding volley.
Lionel Messi, on the other hand, scored seven goals and could have won the Golden Boot on the grounds of assists if he and Mbappe tied on goals. However, 23-year-old Mbappe became the first Frenchman to win the Golden Boot, despite Just Fontaine's record 13 goals at the 1958 World Cup before the award came into existence.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Lionel Messi is the first man to win the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FIFAWorldCup?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FIFAWorldCup</a> Golden Ball 𝙏𝙒𝙄𝘾𝙀 🥇🔂 <a href="https://t.co/Q67kpIwFmL">pic.twitter.com/Q67kpIwFmL</a></p>— LiveScore (@livescore) <a href="https://twitter.com/livescore/status/1604729493104599040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 19, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Mbappe became the fifth man to score in multiple World Cup finals and the second player in back-to-back finals. In addition, he is the second-youngest player ever to win the Golden Boot.
Ahead of Mbappe, Thomas Muller holds the record for winning it as a 20-year-old at the 2010 World Cup. Müller remained one goal away from becoming the first two-time Golden Boot winner in 2014.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Eight goals, the adidas Golden Boot and a tournament for the ages 🌟 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FIFAWorldCup?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FIFAWorldCup</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Qatar2022?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Qatar2022</a></p>— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) <a href="https://twitter.com/FIFAWorldCup/status/1604680421727420419?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 19, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Aston Villa vs Spurs goalkeeper
Although Martinez went home with the Golden Glove, both goalkeepers exhibited their best game. Argentina and France were neck-to-neck throughout the match that was forced into extra time.
The penalty shoot-out edged in favour of Emiliano Martinez, who has an impeccable record against attempts made from the danger area. Over his international career, Martinez has faced 39 penalties on target and saved nine, maintaining a 23.1% save rate.
Meanwhile, France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has faced 116 on-target penalties and saved only 14, which amounts to a 12.1% save rate.
In Qatar 2022, Lloris couldn't save valiant attempts by England's Harry Kane and Robert Lewandowski of Poland. Between Lloris and Martinez, the latter was responsible for leading his team to another shoot-out victory in the 2022 World Cup.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Argentina's safe-hand Emiliano <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Martinez?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Martinez</a> is the Best Goalkeeper of Qatar 2022.<br>The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AstonVilla?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AstonVilla</a> player has been a strong pillar between the post for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LaAlbiceleste?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LaAlbiceleste</a> at this tournament.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ARG?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ARG</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FRA?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FRA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ARGFRA?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ARGFRA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Qatar2022?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Qatar2022</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FIFAWorldCup?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FIFAWorldCup</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LusailStadium?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LusailStadium</a> <a href="https://t.co/rrH6eLj2kE">pic.twitter.com/rrH6eLj2kE</a></p>— The Peninsula Qatar (@PeninsulaQatar) <a href="https://twitter.com/PeninsulaQatar/status/1604547798506115072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In the quarterfinal against the Netherlands, the match headed into penalty shoot-outs, where Martinez saved the first two penalties from Virgil van Dijk and Steven Berghuis. Argentina then won the game 4-3 on penalties.