{"id":22936,"date":"2022-12-19T11:49:17","date_gmt":"2022-12-19T11:49:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/angola\/all-news\/world-cup-2022-argentina-beat-france-in-2022-world-cup-final-in-pictures"},"modified":"2022-12-19T12:11:15","modified_gmt":"2022-12-19T12:11:15","slug":"world-cup-2022-argentina-beat-france-in-2022-world-cup-final-in-pictures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/angola\/all-news\/world-cup-2022-argentina-beat-france-in-2022-world-cup-final-in-pictures","title":{"rendered":"World Cup 2022: Argentina beat France in 2022 World Cup final – in pictures"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Angola. <\/strong><\/span>Argentina are 2022 World Cup champions for the third time after beating France on penalties in the final in Qatar.<\/b><\/p>\n

Gonzalo Montiel scored the winning spot-kick to give the South Americans a 4-2 victory in the shoot-out, after a frenetic game ended 3-3 after extra time.<\/p>\n

Lionel Messi scored twice and Angel di Maria netted for the Argentines, while France’s Kylian Mbappe became the first player since Geoff Hurst in 1966 to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final.<\/p>\n

Argentina eventually triumphed to seal their third world title, with Messi crowning an extraordinary career by lifting the golden trophy at Lusail Stadium.<\/p>\n

Here is the tale of a remarkable football match, told through the best pictures from the final…<\/p>\n

After 63 games in just under a month, the 2022 World Cup final came down to Argentina v France at Lusail Stadium. Following the closing ceremony, the main event began…<\/p>\n

Argentina started strongest and were awarded a penalty on 23 minutes when Ousmane Dembele fouled Angel di Maria. Up stepped Messi, who gave his country the lead<\/p>\n

Argentina doubled their advantage in the first half, Di Maria completing a swift counter-attack with a fine finish past Hugo Lloris. At this stage, the South Americans appeared to have one hand on the trophy…<\/p>\n

After failing to have a single shot until the 67th minute, Kylian Mbappe gave France hope from the penalty spot after Nicolas Otamendi fouled Randal Kolo Muani<\/p>\n

Hope turned into jubilation when Mbappe slammed a volley past Emi Martinez to make it 2-2. The striker’s first two goals were separated by just 97 seconds<\/p>\n

The game went to extra time, and it appeared Messi had won it for Argentina – again – when he forced the ball over the line after Lloris had saved a Lautaro Martinez shot. Jules Kounde’s attempts to clear were in vain<\/p>\n

But France, and Mbappe, were not yet beaten. A shot was blocked by an Argentine arm, so up stepped the PSG star to make it 3-3…<\/p>\n

…and become the first male player for 56 years to score a World Cup final hat-trick. After three penalties in 120 minutes, the game was to be decided by a shootout.<\/p>\n

Mbappe and Messi took the first penalties and both scored. Then up stepped France’s Kingsley Coman – who was denied by Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez<\/p>\n

France were left up against it when their third taker, Aurelien Tchouameni, put his penalty wide<\/p>\n

It fell to Gonzalo Montiel, a 90th-minute substitute at right-back, to take the decisive penalty – he sent Lloris the wrong way to seal a 4-2 shoot-out win<\/p>\n

Montiel covered his face with his shirt as the emotion hit following his winning penalty, before he was mobbed by ecstatic team-mates<\/p>\n

Messi was named player of the tournament and given the Golden Ball award. However, there was only one golden prize he had his eyes on…<\/p>\n

This was Argentina’s third World Cup triumph, after 1978 and 1986. It comes a little over two years after the death of Diego Maradona, who starred in the latter of those two triumphs<\/p>\n

On Sunday night, Messi was on top of the world<\/p>\n\r\n