FIFA World Cup: Lionel Messi leads Argentina to World Cup Glory

After 63 games and a thrilling month, Sunday's breathless final was the wildest finish for the Middle East and Arab world's first World Cup finals.

Messi travelled to Qatar to bring Argentina to its third World Cup championship. He succeeded in doing so following an incredible 3-3 tie that resulted in a 4-2 victory over France in the penalty shootout.

Emiliano Martinez failed to beat Kingsley Coman before Aurelien Tchouameni's attempt was ruled out, and Gonzalo Montiel scored the decisive goal that brought boisterous jubilation to the Lusail Stadium.

Messi converted his attempt in the penalty shootout after opening the scoring with a first-half penalty on Sunday. Angel Di Maria's fine goal against the weak French was added to shortly after by Mbappe.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Sealed with a kiss 😘 🏆 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FIFAWorldCup?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FIFAWorldCup</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Qatar2022?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Qatar2022</a> <a href="https://t.co/Bdhvh0nrEf">pic.twitter.com/Bdhvh0nrEf</a></p>&mdash; FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) <a href="https://twitter.com/FIFAWorldCup/status/1604614684585467906?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The 23-year-old scored twice in 97 seconds to decide the game after 90 minutes and became the second player to score a hat-trick when he cancelled out the Argentina captain's would-be winner in extra time.

But this was Messi's final. It was Messi's tournament - a tournament that ended with him lifting the trophy on the same pitch where they had suffered a humiliating defeat to Saudi Arabia just 26 days earlier.

The 35-year-old's fifth and final appearance in this World Cup ended in glory as he captained the team to its first World Cup triumph since the great Diego Maradona in 1986.

It was a brilliant end to one of the most controversial World Cups in history, with Qatar's treatment of migrant workers and the criminalisation of same-sex relationships among the main issues.

<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&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FIFAWorldCup</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Qatar2022?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Qatar2022</a></p>&mdash; 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>

Their team got off to a good start in Lusail and looked ready to take on a nervous France, whose poor start was punished midway through the first half.

Di Maria brilliantly got the better of Ousmane Dembele and went down when the French striker tried to stop him, prompting referee Szymon Marciniak to point to the spot.

Messi stepped up and fired into the bottom right corner, while Hugo Lloris was caught on the wrong foot. In the 36th minute, things got even worse for France.

Alexis Mac Allister played on Messi and charged forward. The captain made a nice move to Julian Alvarez, who fed the Brighton midfielder and sent a cross to the far post that Di Maria fired into the net.

Didier Deschamps reacted by bringing on Marcus Thuram and Randal Kolo Muani. Dembele and a furious Olivier Giroud made way as France failed to produce a single shot in the first half.

The game seemed to be over as Argentina maintained the two-nil lead. Rodrigo De Paul failed with a volley, Lloris made a save from Alvarez, and France needed until the 68th minute to register their first goal.

The final seemed to be tipping until Nicolas Otamendi's overzealous defence allowed France a chance from the penalty spot.

With a goal in the 80th minute, Mbappe beat Martinez after Marciniak ruled a penalty for the foul on Kolo Muani.

Coman had knocked Messi off his feet at the start of a move, and in the end, the 23-year-old scored with a rich low shot past Martinez after a back pass from Kolo Muani. A fantastic goal, a remarkable moment.

Thuram was cautioned for a foul in the box as France went for the late winner, with Mbappe at his best and Messi's shot blocked before extra time.

The first half of extra time was as tight and cautious as you would expect at the end of an exhausting tournament. Lautaro Martinez's shot and substitute Montiel's follow-up was blocked towards the end of the first half.

Messi was denied when play resumed and seemed determined to lead his team to victory, which he seemed to do after 108 minutes.

The captain converted from close range after Martinez's first attempt had been blocked, and the ball crossed the line before Jules Kounde could clear it.

It was a stunning moment, but the drama was not over yet.

French star Mbappe completed his hat trick after Montiel handled his attempt to send the game to penalties.

In the last second, the substitute failed to beat goalkeeper Martinez after Kolo Muani saved Mbappe's cross.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">They gave it everything 😢 <br><br>An incredible tournament 👏 <br><br>Well played, <a href="https://twitter.com/equipedefrance?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@equipedefrance</a> 💙 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FIFAWorldCup?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FIFAWorldCup</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Qatar2022?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Qatar2022</a> <a href="https://t.co/ZTNKmMzc55">pic.twitter.com/ZTNKmMzc55</a></p>&mdash; FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) <a href="https://twitter.com/FIFAWorldCup/status/1604632440672231424?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 19, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The French international and Messi scored the first goals in the penalty shootout, but Coman failed, and Tchouameni missed, leaving Argentina to win a heart-stopping final.