Argentina 3 – 3 France (4-2 pen): Messi-Merising!
Messi hits brace, sets records as Argentina outlast France in arguably the best World Cup final of all-time
Dreams do come true!. Lionel Messi scores twice and once the penalty shootout to finally lay his hands on the World Cup trophy. His brace not only helped Argentina to its first World Cup title in 36 years in a 4-3 win over France in penalty kicks.
The PSG forward, a seven-time world player of the year who has won virtually everything there is to win in international soccer, has nonetheless played much of his career in the shadow of Diego Maradona, who led Argentina to its last world championship in 1986. Sunday’s win removes that shadow.
Argentina had to fight its way to the final after losing its opening game to Saudi Arabia, ending a 36-game unbeaten streak.
But it shut out Mexico and Poland in its next two matches to win its group, got by the Netherlands on penalty kicks in the quarterfinals, then eliminated Croatia, the runner-up in 2018, to return to the championship game.
And it was Messi who carried them there, scoring five goals and assisting on three others, giving him a hand in eight of Argentina’s 12 goals entering the final. Four of Messi’s five goals put Argentina ahead.
Along the way, he became the only player since 1966 to score and assist in three different World Cup games, the only player to have an assist in five World Cup tournaments and the only player to score a goal in a World Cup game as a teen, in his 20s and in his 30s.
He is also the first player to score in the group stage, round of 16, quater-final, semi-final and final in a single edition of the World Cup as well as the all-time record holder for most games played at the World Cup (26), suparssing Lothar Matthäus (25).
Messi has scored 4 penalties goals in this World Cup, equalling the highest tally for a player in the same edition (4 for Rob Rensenbrink in 1978 and 4 for Eusébio in 1966).
At age 35 years and 177 days, the Argentina captain is the second-oldest player ever to score in a FIFA World Cup final, only Nils Liedholm was older, when he scored against Brazil in 1958 (35y 264d).
