Argentina and France played one of if not the most entertaining soccer games I have ever seen. The game had everything you could ask for. Thrilling moments, clutch superstar play, game-saving blocks. I cannot even put into words how incredible this World Cup final was But I will try to:
1. First Half Dominance
Argentina dominated the first 45 of this match. They did a terrific job controlling the ball and not allowing the French to even have one shot on goal. Mbappe was virtually invisible in the first half. Argentina looked like the more prepared team and was playing much harder to start. Argentina also scored twice in the first half. Angel Di’Maria drew a penalty in the box leading to a PK opportunity. Messi took the PK and made it with ease as he became the first player, since the introduction of the round of 16, to score in every knockout stage in the World Cup. Approximately 15 minutes later Argentina displayed tremendous teamwork to set up their second goal as Di’Maria scored putting Argentina up 2-0. It was looking good for the blue and white but as the Dutch displayed in the quarterfinal, a 2-0 lead for Argentina is far from a sure thing.
2. Heart of a Champion
Everyone knew the French were not going down without a fight. In the 80th minute, one of the French players gets fouled in the penalty box which helped set up a PK for Mbappe. He capitalized on the opportunity and cut the lead in half. Not even 2 minutes later the French are on the attack and Mbappe hits a sensational equalizer to tie the game up at 2-2. All of a sudden we had a ball game. From that point on, like how Argentina was playing with great intensity in the first half, France displayed the same in the waning moments of regulation continuing to put on pressure and all Argentina was trying to do was to survive until extra time. However, in the 95th minute or so Argentina got a rare real chance as Messi took a very nice shot on goal but was blocked by the French Goalkeeper. They go into extra time.
3. Extra Time Madness
The first half of extra time was very slow and tactful as both teams were trying to catch their breath again, especially Argentina. The second half was absolute chaos. In the 108th minute, Argentina creates a nice scoring opportunity from a cross and after the cross, they made some extra passes leading to a shot attempt by Lautaro Martinez which got blocked but the ball went right to Messi and he scored. There was a little pause in the celebration as they were checking to see if Martinez was on sides or not before his shit attempt he received a pass right before that shot attempt and it was a very close call but it appeared that he was on side. With that Argentina leads 3-2. 10 minutes later, Mbappe tries a shot and it hits the elbow of an Argentine defender in the penalty box which is a penalty for France. Mbappe takes the penalty for France and drills the goal giving him a hat trick on the day giving him 5 career goals in World Cup Finals. Then came the moment. France had a Golden opportunity in the 123rd minute to close the door and repeat as world champs. Kolo Mauni had no one in front of him but Emiliano Martinez, the Argentina Goalkeeper, and Martinez made a sensation block that sent this game to penalties.
4. Penalty Shootout
Argentina, coming into this set of PKs were said to have the upper hand as they were historically better in PKs and were believed to have the better goalie. Mbappe and Messi each go first for their respective teams and score. However, the next players for France had their shot blocked and the other ones missed. And conversely, Argentina was perfect in their kicks. So with 3 kicks down for each team, France was 1/3 and Argentina was 3/3. France hit their 4th attempt which kept their slim chances alive. It all came down to Gonzalo Montiel to deliver the most important kick of his life and give Argentina their 3rd ever World Cup Final Victory. AND HE DID JUST THAT!
5. Lionel Messi
What an insane career it has been for Messi. After all the heartbreak he went through earlier in his career not being able to win a single international title for his country, retired in 2016 out of pure emotion he claimed that international football was not meant for him because after losing the Copa America in 2016, he had lost 4 international finals. He then unretired later that same year but it was still more the same for him. Argentina had a very poor showing in Russia during the 2018 World Cup losing in the round of 16 to this very same France team. They then later made some roster changes as they added Lionel Scaloni as head coach after getting rid of Jorge Sampaoli. They then added young players such as Julian Alvarez, Lautoro Martinez, and Gonzalo Montiel who were all guys who idolizes Messi growing up. And with the final addition of Emiliano Martinez, Messi and Argentina began their incredible 18-month run winning the 2021 Copa America, 2022 Finalissima, and 2022 World Cup.
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