Argentina Beats France on Penalties to Win World Cup
Argentina beat France 4-2 on penalties to become world champions. Read the full game story here.
ARGENTINA BEAT FRANCE ON PENALTIES TO WIN WORLD CUP
THE TEAM ENDED EXTRA TIME WITH A 3–3 DRAW.
After a penalty from Lionel Messi in the 23rd minute and Argentina’s Angel Di Maria in the 36th minute, France’s Kylian Mbappe scored back-to-back goals in the 80th and 81st minutes.
In extra time, Messi scored a goal in the 109th minute to give Argentina a 3-2 lead. Mbappe scored from a penalty in the 118th minute to level the game again.
With over 15 years of professional football, Lionel his Messi champion at almost everything. He has won every major club competition available to him at least once. And he won the Ballon d’Or, football’s highest individual award, seven times, his most ever. Messi has been so good for so long that even without the World Cup he claimed to be the best in sports history.
LIONEL MESSI’S GOAL GIVES ARGENTINA 1-0 LEAD
France would complain about this penalty, but officials did not hesitate. Di Maria sliced in from the left flank and hit Dembele, but Dembele nudged his back as he passed him. Di Maria went down, rewarding Argentina for a brilliant start.
Lionel Messi has scored his fifth penalty of the tournament. He has scored his three goals and before the final he had been denied once. This time he didn’t make a mistake and put it in the bottom right corner of Loris’s goal. After scoring his first ever goal in a World Cup final, Messi peeled off and all 10 outfielders fell to the ground in a blue mountain.
ANGELDI’S MARIA GOAL PUTS ARGENTINA TO HIS 2-0
France have been the counterattacking specialists throughout the World Cup, but Les Bleus have just tasted their medicine as they took Argentina 2-0 with a swing. Upamecano’s loose on the left side. The ball was cleared by Argentina and headed to Mac Allister, who sent the first pass to Messi. Messi flicked with his left foot to direct the ball to Alvarez, but Alvarez clearly saw Alistair run into the French half, and with time to look up and pick a pass, Mac Allister dihi drove his cross low towards Maria. With six touches, Argentina threw for about 70 yards and Di Maria’s finish in the bottom corner was excellent. On the other hand, France have yet to create a scoring chance in this match. Everything is one-way.
FRANCE TRY TO TURN THE GAME AROUND
French coach Didier Deschamps makes a radical change here in the 41st minute. By eliminating Olivier his Giroud and Ousmane his Dembele, he hopes to solve his two problems at once. France’s lack of attacking power and di he defensive weakness on the right flank, which Maria attacks through the night. They are joined by Marcus Thuram, who has Mbappe in the center of the left flank, and Randall Kolo-Mouani, who scored France’s second goal in the semi-final against Morocco.
Deschamps has come this far, won the 2018 World Cup, but has been pretty conservative. But he has no choice here. Les Bleus needs to move things forward and quickly.
A SPECTACULAR FIRST HALF FOR MESSI AND ARGENTINA
Argentina and Messi had a flawless first period. a complete catastrophe for France.
With two goals in the first half, Argentina has stunned the reigning champions. Messi’s penalty and Angel Di Maria’s spectacular finish gave the team a faster, sharper, and more physical appearance.
France is acting like a team that has the sick despite stating that they are healthy for this game. Les Bleus, who have only touched the ball 36% of the time, have not yet made a goal attempt. Before halftime, their manager Didier Deschamps attempted to change things up by making a rare double replacement, but so far it hasn’t worked.
KYLIAN MBAPPÉ TIED THE MATCH FOR FRANCE WITH BACK-TO-BACK GOALS
Another soft penalty in the game, but this one for France. Argentinian Nicolas Otamendi blocked Randall Colo his Muani from entering his area on a penalty and the referee quickly pointed to the spot. Kylian Mbappe stepped forward and drove the ball deep into the bottom left corner past Emiliano Martinez. It’s a breakthrough for France, who did very little today, but they’re headed for a grandstand finish.
A minute later, Mbappe found the net again and the match ended in a two-goal draw.
MOMENTUM SHIFTS TO FRANCE IN WORLD CUP FINAL
Two minutes of confusion turned this finale upside down. Almost immediately after the restart, France rushed to Argentina for clarification, from which France went straight to the jugular vein. Rabiot played a pass to Mbappe in the box and played a give-and-go with Coman before firing a powerful low shot past Martinez into the bottom right corner of the goal. The French bench emptied into the field when the ball hit the net. Argentina, who seemed to be in complete control, are now in trouble.
Mbappé barely showed up in his first 80 minutes, but completely turned this game upside down in the final minutes.
WORLD CUP FINAL GOES INTO EXTRA TIME
I will work overtime. A truly exceptional turnaround led by Kylian Mbappe saw France bounce back from the crisis and he added 30 minutes of pure suspense.
LIONEL MESSI SCORES GOAL IN EXTRA TIME TO LEAD ARGENTINA
Lionel Messi scored in the 109th minute of extra time to give Argentina a 3-2 lead.
KYLIAN MBAPPÉ SEPARATES THE MATCH ON THREE POINTS FOR FRANCE
Kylian Mbappe scored a penalty in the 118th minute to equalize for France after an Argentine handball in the penalty area.
NOW MESSI HAS THIS WORLD CUP TOO.y
It took one of the toughest games of his career to get there. In a night of intense drama that went from exhilaration to frustration and back again, Messi’s Argentina went 2-0 in the final ten minutes of regular time before going 3-2 in extra time and 3-3 before catching up again. Finished with 3. Finally won 4-2 in the penalty shootout.
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