Abdul Jabbar Faisal
ISLAMABAD: Argentina defeated the defending champion France 4-2 on penalty kicks of the final of the FIFA World Cup 2022 and won the title for the third time in the history of the football world after 36 years at Lusail Football Stadium in Doha, Qatar on Sunday night. The final was leveled 3-3 after 120 minutes of play. Argentina won the FIFA World Cup title in 1978 and 1986, while France lifted the title in 1998 and 2018.
During the first 15 minutes of the final, Messi and teammates displayed a composed game and attacked three times to the opposite goalpost on target but could not succeed in scoring a goal. Argentina also kept the ball in their control and created moves with short passes.
In the 18th minute, France earned a free kick near the box on the left side, but the forward A Griezmann botched to guide the ball into the net with the head, as it was the first attempt on the rival on target. Finally, in the 23rd minute of the match, Leonel Messi scored the first goal in the final on a penalty kick and led his team 1-0 in the crucial contest of the FIFA World Cup 2022.
FIFA World Cup 2022 final
Angel Di Maria doubled the Argentina lead in the 36th minute of the first half, as Messi created a move and passed the ball to Maria on the left side; he did not disappoint his captain and converted the ball into the goal. After going down 0-2 in the final, France’s coach made the first change in the 40th minute to stop the back-to-back attempts of rival players.
During the first 45 minutes of play, defending champions France could not shoot on the opponent’s goalpost for a solitary time, as they could keep control of the ball for 40 percent, while the rest of the time, ball possession was of Argentinian. At half-time, Argentina had a two-goal lead over France in the final contest of the Qatar Football FIFA World Cup 2022.
Argentina started the second half with a similar dominating style, as they played most of the time in the French half. The winners wasted a couple of chances in the 58th and 59th minutes to consolidate their position in the final. After 60 minutes of play, France totally failed to make any joint effort to reduce the deficit, even though they could not make and shoot on the opposite team.
Meanwhile, in the 67th minute, France footballer made a move from the left side and created an occasion for the forwards by they could not guide the ball into the net with the head and missed a golden occasion to reduce the lead. France sent two bench players into the field in the 69th minute and they succeeded in making the first shoot on the opponent’s goalpost.
French players awoke and scored two goals in 2 minutes by Kylian Mbappa leveling the match again at a 2-2 score. Mbappa scored the first goal on a penalty kick in the 80th minute and a field goal in the 81st minute changed the game’s complexion. Mbappa did not waste the opportunity to level the final. After equalizing the match, France tried their best to make some moves to hit back at Argentina to earn a crucial lead. France attempted 4 shoots on the goalpost, as they could not make a single-time shoot in the first half.
Before the final whistle, in injury time, both teams got a couple of opportunities to make the score-line 3-2, but the goalkeepers were alert and dismissed the attacks of rival players. Messi inked history in the 108th minute of the match by scoring a field goal. It was Messi’s second goal in the final match of the FIFA World Cup 2022. France hero Mbappa scored a hat-trick in the final and leveled the encounter 3-0, as his penalty kick to the goalkeeper’s right side could not be stopped by him. At the end of extra time score was leveled 3-0.
Argentina (Playing XIs):
D Martinez (goalkeeper), N Molina, C Romero, N Otamendi, N Tagliafico, Angel Di Maria, R De Paul, E Fernandez, A Nacallister, Leonel Messi, J Alvarez
France (Playing XIs):
H Lloris (goalkeeper), T Hernandez, D Upamecano, R Varane, J Kounde, A Rabiot, A Echouameni, Kylian Mbappa, A Griezmann, O Dembele, O Giroudi.
