The Greatest Final: Argentina win World Cup on penalties after Messi & Mbappe combine for thriller

It was won. It was lost. It was won again. It was lost again. Eventually, after 120 minutes and penalties, it was won. Argentina are world champions. Lionel Messi is a world champion.

The celebration was muted by relief: such was the drama of the game, such was the strength of the performance, that to have lost after all of it would have been crushing to Argentina. Yet, after it all, it was their day.

Gonzalo Montiel, who had conceded a penalty late in extra time, got the moment in the shootout and was in tears before the ball had hit the net. His was the final moment, but it was just one of an uncountable number.

Goalkeeper Emi Martinez produced the save of the tournament to deny Randal Kolo Muani in the last minute of extra time and keep the score at 3-3

Argentina scored a contender for goal of the tournament in the first half. Kylian Mbappe became the second man to score a hat trick in the World Cup final, but lost anyway.

Messi was ridiculous, scoring twice, but Mbappe was even better, and his two in two minutes near the end of regulation time brought the game level at 2-2.

This game was billed as Messi v Mbappe, and while that played out even more than anyone could have anticipated, it tells just a fraction of the story.

For 80 minutes, Argentina had wiped the floor with France, racing into a two-goal lead and looking exceptional in the process. Yet, like in the last 16 against the Socceroos and the quarter final against the Netherlands, the defence fell in a heap and let their opponents back into it.

It was a superb team performance, evidenced by the second goal, scored by Angel Di Maria, which will go down as one of the best ever seen in a final.

For that same 80 minutes, France were horrendous. They barely registered in the game, but as they have so often shown, are the ultimate tournament team. They also have Mbappe, who iced a penalty, scored a belter, then iced another from the spot with the tournament on the line.

Argentina have a proven predilection for throwing leads, and France are experts in snatching the moments that come their way. The comeback was unpredictable, but not unforeseeable.

They had been were weakened by illness in the week and did well to get their full complement on the field. Adrien Rabiot and Dayot Upamecano, who both missed the semi-finals with a virus, were back, but they were only able to look on as the blue and white waves came.

It was no secret that Argentina would attack with vigour, but the lack of endeavour from France with the ball was a big surprise. It took them until well into the second half to so much as register a shot.

“The whole squad has been facing a tricky situation for a while now, maybe that had a physical or psychological impact,” said French manager Didier Deschamps after the game.

“I had no concerns about those who started the match tonight. They were fit: 100 per cent fit. But we’ve only had four days since the last match, so there is some tiredness, perhaps.

“That is not an excuse, we just didn’t show the same energy we had in previous games. And that’s why for the first hour or so we weren’t in the match.”

Yet this French side are never out. They were given the slightest entry via a penalty, then flung the door open with a stupendous Mbappe goal. When Argentina poked ahead again in extra time, France simply pegged them back again.

Emotionally, even those uninvested in the result were going through a wringer. One can only imagine what it must have been like for French supporters, continually tempted by hope only to have them dashed, or Argentinian, with all the weight of history and expectation.

“I cannot believe that we have suffered so much in a perfect game. Unbelievable, but this team responds to everything,” said victorious manager Lionel Scaloni.

“I am proud of the work they did. It is an exciting group. With the blows we received today, with the draws, this makes you emotional. I want to tell people to enjoy, it’s a historic moment for our country.”

France have often allowed teams to come onto them, confident of their ability on the break, but their first half performance went beyond defensive and into outright passivity.

It had been suggested that their willingness to sit back would be a dangerous tactic against an attack with Messi in it, and with the addition of a fit, firing di Maria, that was doubled. France couldn’t get close to the pair.

Messi was central to everything, of course, because he always is, but di Maria chose this moment to produce his best showing for a long time in the blue and white jersey.

Perhaps it should have been expected from a man who has twice won player of the match in the Champions’ League Final that he would save his best for the biggest stage.

It was he who created the first, jinking past Ousmane Dembele, getting the wrong side and taking the contact to win the penalty. Messi sent Hugo Lloris the wrong way.

The first might have been the result of weak defending, but the second was near-unstoppable. France could only stand and stare as one of the great World Cup Final goals happened around them.

It was begun by an interception on the edge of their own box a France attempted to push. The ball fell to Messi, who controlled with one foot and passed around the corner with the outside of his other, freeing Julian Alvarez.

The Manchester City striker played a first time through ball to Alexis Mac Allister, who in turn squared for di Maria to finish a sweeping move that saw the ball travel 80 in seconds, with just six touches. The stadium exploded and di Maria was in tears.

The Juventus midfielder had played just eight minutes since the groups, but was a late inclusion into the starting eleven. If France didn’t expect him to play, they certainly didn’t expect him to feature as a left winger, hugging the touchline and causing untold problems for French right back Jules Kounde.

Usually a centre back, he was made to look like a man well out of his depth by the deception and speed of di Maria. He was not the only one: Deschamps hooked two before half-time in an attempt to take back a semblance of control over a game that had quickly spiralled beyond France.

The passivity continued. France couldn’t get close to the Argentina goal and did not have a shot until beyond the hour. Prior to that, Rabiot had been forced to deny Messi at the last second with a tackle and Alvarez had seen his low shot parried by Lloris.

With 20 to play, Deschamps moved again, withdrawing Theo Hernandez and Antoine Griezmann. Griezmann, arguably their best player at this tournament, had barely been sighted all game.

With ten to play, France finally found something. Kolo Muani was felled by Nicolas Otamendi, giving Polish referee Szymon Marciniak his second chance to point to the spot.

Mbappe squeezed the ball past Martinez for 2-1, then was found by Marcus Thuram to volley a second beyond the keeper to equalise. It was barely believable.

Both sides tried to win it in regulation: Mbappe had a shot deflected over and Messi had a powerful effort acrobatically saved.

The usual stasis of extra time kicked in, with neither side offering much, until Scaloni introduced Lautaro Martinez. The Inter striker nearly scored twice on the brink of the interval, but Upamecano blocked the first well and the second rolled wide.

Lautaro would be denied again early in the second half, but this time, it didn’t matter. Messi had played him through and, when Lloris saved, was perfectly positioned to finish it. There was a wait as VAR confirmed that the ball had crossed the line, then to check an offside, but both got the green light.

That wasn’t close to it. France threw men forward and got their break, with a shot hitting Montiel on the arm. Marciniak gave the penalty, Mbappe finished it.

It kept coming. Kolo Muani missed a sitter, with Emi Martinez producing the save of his life, and within seconds, Lautaro headed wide. The penalties, when they arrived, came almost reluctantly.

France sent up Mbappe and Argentina Messi, and – obviously – both scored. But France’s next effort was saved by Martinez and Paulo Dybala, brought on specifically for the shootout, scored. Aurelien Tchouameni’s effort went wide, opening the door for Montiel to win it. This time, it stuck.