The moment that Lionel Messi had been waiting his entire career for finally arrived, as a 4-2 Argentina win on penalties saw him lift the prestigious World Cup trophy. A crazy 3-3 draw in 120 minutes against France saw the game decided on penalties with Gonzalo Montiel converting from 12 yards to crown Argentina as the new world champions.
Messi converted the opening goal from 12 yards after Angel Di Maria was felled by Ousmane Dembele. Di Maria then doubled his nation's lead in the 36th minute converting Alexis Mac Allister's pass.
Kylian Mbappe then stole the limelight with two goals in two minutes to drag France level and force extra time. Messi snatched the spotlight back with a 108th-minute goal but the contest was not decided yet with Mbappe scoring a penalty with two minutes to go in extra time.
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Emiliano Martinez was the hero once again on penalties, saving Kingsley Coman's spot kick before winning the mental battle with Real Madrid's Aurélien Tchouaméni who fired his effort wide.
After Argentina's full-time celebrations, the moment finally arrived for Messi to lift the one major trophy he is yet to win. FIFA President Gianni Infantino presented the trophy to the Argentina captain, who was made to wear a Bisht, a black and gold Qatari robe, while lifting the trophy alongside his team-mates.
The moment caused quite a stir in the BBC studio with the decision to put Messi in a Bisht leaving them all confused, with Pablo Zabaleta, who played 58 times for Argentina, parctilarly bemused. With Gary Lineker bringing up the topic, Zabaleta who simply replied, "Why, just why? No reason to do that."
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