History made, destiny fulfilled, immortality secured - and what a game in which to do it.
Lionel Messi elevated his legend and emulated Diego Maradona with a perfect ending, scoring twice as Argentina were crowned world champions for the third time.
In one of the great World Cup finals, perhaps the greatest, Messi’s Argentina beat France on penalties after a 3-3 draw in the Lusail Iconic Stadium.
Twice, Messi thought he had inspired Argentina to victory, only for Kylian Mbappe to become the first man since Sir Geoff Hurst to score a hat-trick in a World Cup Final, as holders France refused to surrender their crown without an almighty fight.
In the end, this was the Messi versus Mbappe final that many had hoped for and predicted, although the sheer breathlessness of the drama means the game itself almost transcended its two biggest actors. It was a match for the ages on any stage, let alone the biggest match of all on the biggest stage of all.
Argentina led 2-0 through Messi and Angel Di Maria with barely half-an-hour played and were cruising to victory before Mbappe struck twice in 97 seconds, in the 80th and 81st minutes. His first was a penalty, the second a stunning volley.
Just as they did against the Netherlands, Lionel Scaloni’s side responded to their implosion to improve in extra-time and Messi scored his second of the game with what looked set to be the most important goal and moment of his storied career.
But Mbappe netted his second penalty of the evening to force spot-kicks, eventually won 4-2 by Argentina, with both superstars scoring again.
Kingsley Coman and Aurelien Tchouameni missed for France, who did not deserve to lose. No-one did.
Messi was naturally at the centre of wild and tearful Argentine celebrations, the 35-year-old finally getting his hands on the World Cup trophy at the fifth and final attempt and did what his idol Maradona never could by scoring in a final.
The achievement was surely made all the more special and memorable because Argentina had to win this game three times.
From the cusp of a dream, Messi nearly faced his ultimate nightmare, a lifetime of regrets, but Argentina’s scares should only have made their final triumph sweeter. Rarely can football have told a more seductive tale than this one.
Although it was cruel on Mbappe, the heir to Messi’s crown as the best player and biggest star on the planet, Messi was a deserving winner.
He was Argentina’s heartbeat again, involved in everything positive about Lionel Scaloni’s side, including their second goal - a magnificent team move finished by Di Maria.
The little magician opened the scoring from the spot after Di Maria was fouled and volleyed home from close range in the 108th-minute after Hugo Lloris could only parry a Lautaro Martinez effort.
Such is Messi’s universalism, his triumph will be celebrated around the world, from the squares of Buenos Aires to the streets of Mumbai to the beaches of Dar Es Salaam and back again.
There will even be celebrations across France and the rest of South America. Messi is a talent who goes beyond borders and historic rivalries, has sold a billion of replica shirts and inspired a reverence not seen since Maradona, who almost single-handedly dragged Argentina to their last World Cup in 1986.
This is not an ending for Messi - jarringly, Paris Saint-Germain return to Ligue 1 action in 10 days - but it felt like a climax, the end point of over 15 years of unparalleled excellence.
Messi should continue to sparkle in the Champions League for PSG but will never again light up the biggest stage of all.
The final was the last chance for a generation which has grown up or grown old watching Messi to witness him influence a game of this magnitude, so it felt fitting that he finally won the only prize which has so far eluded him, and the one he desired above all.
Messi became the first man to score in every knockout round of a World Cup but plainly he could not have done it alone.
There were other heroes, including Emi Martinez who saved from Coman in the shootout and did enough to put off Tchouameni, who fired wide.
Di Maria was particularly magnificent, winning the penalty for Messi’s first goal when he was tripped by Ousmane Dembele, and Scaloni’s decision to replace him with 30 minutes to play looked in danger of going down as a costly mistake when France roared back.
Deschamps, by contrast, deserved huge credit for introducing Randal Kolo Muani and Marcus Thuram before half-time for the abject Ousmane Dembele and Olivier Giroud.
Di Maria will go down as another story for the ages in Argentina, having missed the 2014 final through injury and has not played in Qatar since being forced off injured in the second game.
But this was about Messi more than anyone else, his own redemption arc after losing eight years ago, and his crowning farewell.
It should not be forgotten that there is also a darker side to Messi’s triumph, which will now forever associated with a World Cup built on death and exploitation.
The hosts Qatar could not have imagined a better outcome than Messi, their own poster-boy at PSG, capping his career by lifting the trophy at their tournament in a game like this.
Qatar owns Messi and now they own a large part of his ultimate achievement, too.
Even amid the Argentina celebrations, Gianni Infantino was booed as he came to the stage to present Argentina with the trophy. Naturally, the biggest cheer of all belonged to Messi.
