'GOAT' Messi wins first World Cup in his career... Argentina tops after 36 years (Summary)

Argentina wins first title in 36 years, beating France in penalty shootout
Kylian Mbappe leads with multi-goals and hat-trick but loses in penalty shootout

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] 'Football God' Lionel Messi (Argentina) has won his first-ever World Cup. Argentina has reached the top of the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 36 years.

Argentina, led by coach Lionel Scaloni, played a tense match against France in the 2022 Qatar World Cup final held on the 19th (Korean time) at Lusail Stadium in Qatar. The match ended 2-2 in regular time and 3-3 after extra time. Argentina won 4-2 in the penalty shootout to claim the championship.

Argentina reached the World Cup summit for the first time in 36 years since their victories in the 1978 tournament and the 1986 Mexico tournament. This is their third overall title.

After Brazil, the champion of the 2002 Korea-Japan tournament, Europe (Italy in 2006, Spain in 2010, Germany in 2014, France in 2018) had maintained dominance for four consecutive tournaments, but South America recorded a World Cup victory again after 20 years.

At the center of victory was Messi. It was a match only for Messi, by Messi, and about Messi. Having played for the Argentina national team since 2005 and with his best World Cup result being runner-up in the 2014 Brazil tournament, Messi made football history by finally reaching the World Cup summit.

France, the defending champion, challenged for back-to-back titles but could not overcome the desperate wall represented by Argentina and Messi, settling for second place.

The match was dominated by Argentina from the start. In the 21st minute of the first half, Di Mar?a earned a penalty kick from Demb?l?, and Messi, who took the kick, successfully scored, shaking the French net.

Argentina increased ball possession and led the game. In the 35th minute of the first half, Di Mar?a took a shot in a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper, pushing the score to 2-0.

Facing a crisis, France made substitutions. At the 40th minute of the first half, Giroud and Demb?l? were replaced by Marcus Thuram and Randal Kolo Muani, but they failed to score and ended the first half trailing.

Argentina continued to lead in the second half. In the 15th minute of the second half, Messi took a decisive shot but missed the goal, continuing a series of near misses.

France launched a counterattack. In the 33rd minute of the second half, Kolo Muani earned a penalty kick from Otamendi, and Mbapp?, who took the kick, scored to start the comeback.

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

Mbapp? leveled the match. In the 36th minute of the second half, Mbapp? scored with a volley, recording a multi-goal performance and shifting the momentum to France.

Argentina and France continued fierce exchanges. In the 3rd minute of the second half of extra time, a shot by Messi was judged to have crossed the goal line, giving Argentina a 3-2 lead.

However, in the 13th minute of the second half of extra time, Mbapp? scored again to equalize, bringing the match back to a draw.

Both teams eventually ended in a 3-3 draw after a tense battle and proceeded to a penalty shootout. Argentina, which had previously won a penalty shootout against the Netherlands in the quarterfinals, showed concentration.

France’s Kingsley Coman and Aur?lien Tchouam?ni missed their shots consecutively, shifting the momentum to Argentina. Starting with lead kicker Messi, Paulo Dybala, Paredes, and Gonzalo Montiel all scored consecutively, securing the championship.

Messi recorded 13 goals and 8 assists over five World Cups, surpassing Miroslav Klose (Germany, 16 goals - 3 assists), Ronaldo (Brazil, 15 goals - 4 assists), and Gerd M?ller (Germany, 14 goals - 5 assists) to become the all-time leader in combined attacking points.

With this World Cup victory, Messi became the first in football history to win the World Cup, Olympics, UEFA Champions League (UCL), and Ballon d'Or. Messi has won the Ballon d'Or seven times (2009?2012, 2015, 2019, 2021) and claimed the UCL title four times. Having also won the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Messi completed the final piece of his career puzzle with the World Cup victory, marking a perfect coronation.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.