Qatar: After four weeks of soccer.in Qatar, Argentina has been crowned the World Cup champion, beating France on penalty kicks Sunday in what will be remembered as one of the great finals of all time. World cup 2022 in Qatar finally comes to an end and the fans and spectators are now on their way home. Lionel Messi is a world champion for the first time, finally capturing the just about the only trophy missing from his cabinet. Messi scored twice in the final and converted his penalty kick, finishing the tournament with seven goals in seven matches.

 

In his last World Cup appearance, Messi won the title that has eluded him throughout his illustrious career as Argentina beat France in a penalty shootout Sunday. Gonzalo Montiel, whose handball in extra time gave France a lifeline, made the final penalty, setting off a wild celebration among the Argentina players and their fans.  Messi waved to the fans as several of his teammates dissolved into tears.

 

While this game will be remembered for Messi's majestic moment, it also will be remembered for Kylian Mbappe's heroics. All but left for dead after a lethargic first 80 minutes, he scored twice in 90 seconds to force extra time and then, after Messi had scored, converted a penalty to force the shootout. Kingsley Coman and Aurélien Tchouaméni missed for France, while Argentina converted all four kicks to win the country's third World Cup championship. Gonzalo Montiel scored the winner for Argentina.

 

For the third time in history, the World Cup final will be decided by penalty kicks. Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe each scored in the second period of extra time to send this to penalties, truly one of the matches in World Cup history. Each team had a big chance in the last minute of extra time. After a handball in the penalty area, France's Kylian Mbappe converted from the penalty spot in the 118th minute, his third goal of the night for the second hat trick in World Cup final history.

 

Lionel Messi pounced on a rebound to smash the ball over the line and put Argentina ahead 3-2 in the 108th minute of the World Cup final. It's his second goal of the night and he's back in the lead for Golden Boot. Neither team scored in the first 15 minutes of extra time, meaning we're just 15 minutes away from penalty kicks if the scoreline holds. Argentina had two huge chances in the final few minutes but France defender Dayot Upamecano made a game-saving slide tackle to block a shot and Lautaro Martinez was unable to get a shot on frame in a 1-on-1 with keeper Hugo Lloris.

 

Both teams pushed hard for a winner in the final 10 minutes of regulation, but we're heading to extra time in Qatar, with an additional 30 minutes and penalty kicks if necessary to decide the world champion.

 

Four of the last five World Cup finals have gone to extra time, including Argentina's loss to Germany in 2014. Less than two minutes after scoring a penalty kick to get France back into the game, Kylian Mbappe hammered home the equalizer. Mbappe is now the tournament's top scorer with seven, pulling his country back after struggling for the first 75 minutes of the game.

 

Argentina also blew a 2-0 lead in the quarterfinals against the Netherlands, but went on to win in penalty kicks. After a listless first half, the defending champions still haven't been able to get anything going since the break – while Argentina is taking advantage of the space to create some good chances in the first 20 minutes of the half. It was all Argentina in the first half, heading into the break-up 2-0 behind goals from Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria. They're 45 minutes away from their first World Cup championship since 1986, and the first of Messi's storied career.

 

Messi is the first player to score in all four rounds of the knockout stage – converting penalty kicks in the quarterfinals, semis and final after a goal from open play in the round of 16. It was all Argentina in the first half, heading into the break-up 2-0 behind goals from Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria. They're 45 minutes away from their first World Cup championship since 1986, and the first of Messi's storied career. Messi is the first player to score in all four rounds of the knockout stage – converting penalty kicks in the quarterfinals, semis and final after a goal from open play in the round of 16.

 

Les Bleus are back to full strength. Well, as full strength as they get at this tournament. Midfielder Adrien Rabiot and defender Dayot Upamecano, who missed the semifinal with the flu, were back in the starting lineup for France for Sunday's final against Argentina. Raphael Varane is also in the starting XI, two days after missing practice with "flu-like symptoms."  Ibrahima Konate and Kingsley Coman, who missed practice the same day as Varane, are also available to play. One player who isn't available is Karim Benzema.

 

The reigning Ballon d'Or winner is training again with Real Madrid after recovering from the thigh injury that's kept him out of the World Cup, and there were reports the club had cleared him to join France for the final. But Benzema is listed on the start sheet as "absent." The only change to Argentina's lineup is Angel Di Maria is back starting and Leandro Paredes is coming off the bench. The 34-year-old Di Maria started Argentina's first four games at the World Cup, but came on as a substitute in the quarterfinal game against the Netherlands. He didn't play in Tuesday's semifinal against Croatia.