FIFA World Cup 2022, Finals: Heartbreak for France as Argentina clinch title in penalty shootout

FIFA World Cup 2022, Finals: Heartbreak for France as Argentina clinch title in penalty shootout (Image Source: Twitter)

The FIFA World Cup 2022 kicked off on November 20 and the hosts Qatar crashed out of the tournament on the back of their poor run in the multinational tournament. After more than 25 days of action, France and Argentina faced off against each other in the summit clash on December 18, Sunday and it was the latter who dominated the game right from the start.

Both teams started off confidently, although the La Albiceleste had an edge over the opposition, given that they were brimming with confidence on an epic day. France, on the other hand, were rusty and struggled to get things sorted early on in the game. Much to the delight of the Argentinian fans, Lionel Messi capitalized on a penalty in the 23rd minute and opened the account for Argentina.

When the least expected, Ángel Di María doubled the lead in the 36th minute and put France on the back foot right away. The Les Bleus were struggling to keep their nerves and let the game slip away with unwanted errors, which could have been prevented to keep the momentum intact. Eventually, the first half ended with Argentina leading 2-0 and fans hoped for a comeback from the Les Bleus in the second half.

Fiery contest in finals between Argentina-France in FIFA World Cup 2022

As far as the second half is concerned, the Les Bleus started off better than in the first half and managed to create opportunities. However, the Argentinian defence was too good to find gaps for the French strikers, with the scoreline remaining unchanged at the 55-minute mark and with every passing minute, Argentina were inching closer to the win. With Messi announcing that it would be his final World Cup, the Argentinian camp were thriving on their strengths to give a perfect finish to the legendary player's World Cup career.

Kylian Mbappe opened the account for France after capitalizing on a penalty in the 80th minute. When the least expected, the French star scored yet another goal and matched the lead in the 81st minute, bringing France back into the game. Eventually, the match entered extra time and fans still awaited the winner after 90 minutes of continuous action. At the end of the first half in the extra time, the scoreline still remained unchanged and fans hoped for a winner in the second half of the extra time.

Much to the delight of the Argentinian fans, Messi bounced back in the second half of the extra time and scored the goal for his team in the 108th minute. However, Mbappe capitalized on a penalty in the 118th minute and scored a hattrick to push the game into the penalty shootout. Eventually, it was Argentina who came out on top in the penalty shootout (4-2) to lift the world trophy.