Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez had the last laugh after Kylian Mbappe’s declaration that the European nations “always win” the World Cup.
Martinez was the hero in Argentina’s remarkable final victory over France thanks to a stunning last-gasp save from striker Randal Kolo Muani in the closing minute of extra-time before saving Kingsley Coman’s penalty in the shootout as Argentina won the trophy.
Mbappe did net a stunning hat-trick as he beat Lionel Messi to win the Golden Boot; the Paris Saint-Germain striker scoring twice inside a minute of normal time before scoring another penalty in extra-time to once again level the score, and then finding the net in the shootout.
After the match, Argentina goalkeeper Martinez took the time to step away from celebrations and seek out Mbappe to comfort him after a remarkable game. Footage had appeared to show the striker being inconsolable prior to being approached by his adversary, against whom he had found the net four times over the course of the pulsating encounter.
However, that came after the two had clashed with a war of words in the media in the build-up to the tournament and the final. It all started back in May, when Mbappe gave his verdict on which nations would be favourites to win the World Cup.
"The advantage we have in Europe is that we play among ourselves with high-level matches all the time, such as the Nations League," the Paris Saint-Germain forward declared six months ago when looking ahead to the winter tournament.
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"When we arrive at the World Cup, we are ready, where Brazil and Argentina do not have this level in South America. Football is not as advanced as in Europe. That’s why at the last World Cups, it's always the Europeans who win."
Those words were not forgotten by Martinez, who responded in the build-up to the final: "He said that the level of South America is lower than the European level because he did not play there.
"If you do not have the experience then it is difficult to comment, but nothing was wrong with what he said. They know we are a world class team and they respect us for that."
Lionel Messi had previously explained on TyC Sports when his PSG club teammate’s comments were broached, having spent two trophy-laden decades experiencing the European game with Barcelona, that: "Many times we talked about that in Spain.
"When we returned from a qualifier, we told them, 'You don't know how difficult it would be for you to qualify for the World Cup if you had to go there, at altitude, in the heat, in Venezuela'."
