World Cup

Dubbed one of the greatest finals in the tournament's 92-year history, France downed Argentina 4-2 on penalties after the match finished 3-3 following ...

He scored the decisive goal against Mexico in the second Group C match, as they went on to win 2-0. The forward also came close to achieving two other milestones, now being just one goal off Just Fontaine's French national team record of 13 goals and getting within reach of Miroslav Klose's record of 16 goals in 24 World Cup matches, with his tally at 12 goals in 13 matches. The Paris Saint-Germain man smashed the previous record of two goals scored by a single player in a World Cup final, surpassing Brazilian Ronaldo's 2002 record of 12 minutes between goals, but touched another milestone with his third as he became only the second player in history to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final after England's Geoff Hurst in 1966.

Watching football icon Lionel Messi inspire Argentina to World Cup glory made the economic suffering engulfing the country “worth it,” according to ecstatic ...

So this distraction is richly deserved,” said Acevedo. “We were born to suffer, that’s how we Argentines are,” agreed beer vendor Manuel Erazo. Today it was our turn and the joy is ours,” said hotel receptionist Julio Berdun, 50, from the capital’s Plaza de Mayo square. “I’ve been waiting my whole life to enjoy the World Cup.” In Rosario, the home town of Messi and Angel Di Maria, Argentina’s other final goalscorer on Sunday, fans of rival teams Newell’s Old Boys and Rosario Central buried their differences and cheered shoulder to shoulder. Ska band La Mosca played a concert in Buenos Aires with an updated version of the team’s official World Cup song “Muchachos,” with the lyrics tweaked to acknowledge Argentina’s third title. “Epic, this is epic, all of Argentine history is suffering like this,” said a fan watching the game on a giant screen in the Centenario park in the capital.

Messi didn't need this trophy to secure his seat at the table of the game's legends.

That's what Messi has done in this tournament, and it was driven home most emphatically during that long walk back to the center circle after he slotted his penalty home in the shootout. Messi plays in a hugely polarized era, where the "superclubs" (like Barcelona and PSG) have 10, 20 and sometimes 40 times the budget of most of their opponents. And Diego Maradona played in an era when you had to win the league to be in it, not just finish in the top four. Still, to some winning his first World Cup will move the needle and place Messi at the head of that G.O.A.T. [Antoine Griezmann](https://www.espn.com.au/football/player/_/id/140416/Antoine-Griezmann). [Mexico](/football/team?id=203), sending Argentina on their way to a crucial victory after they had lost their opener to [Saudi Arabia](/football/team?id=655). It was the soon-to-be-past against the inevitable future for control of the present. Even as his career took off -- even as the club silverware and Ballons d'Or piled up, even as he demolished Argentine national team records for goals scored (which he did in 2016) and appearances (in the summer of 2021) -- and even as many had him as the game's No. [Gonzalo Montiel](https://www.espn.com.au/football/player/_/id/228262/Gonzalo-Montiel) converted his penalty kick to make it 4-2 and give them an unassailable lead. But even that means forgetting what he did to get Argentina here and get them over the line. [News and features](/football/league/_/name/fifa.world) And so [Lionel Messi](https://www.espn.com.au/football/player/_/id/45843/Lionel-Messi) walked up to take Argentina's opening penalty.

Betr customers in Australia were delivered a windfall of almost $20m when the Lionel Messi-led Argentina lifted the World Cup trophy.

Geoff Hurst did it for England when they won their only World Cup Final in 1966. [SPECIAL OFFER: UNLOCK EVERYTHING ON RACENET FOR JUST $1](https://www.racenet.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=RNWEB_WRE170_a_FA&dest=https://www.racenet.com.au/racenetiq)

On the field, this World Cup had everything a fan could ask for. Off it, the legacy Qatar 2022 leaves behind is far more complicated.

[Qatar wanted to redefine its image](/football/story/4802988/qatar-world-cup-2022-sportswashingsecurity-and-soccer), bolster its standing in the Middle East and change perceptions of the region through this tournament. A bisht is a ceremonial piece of clothing worn by Qataris, and giving it to Messi ensured Qatar had an indelible mark on the defining, iconic sporting image of this tournament that, surely, should have been about the winners, not the hosts. There was still time for substitute [Lautaro Martinez](https://www.espn.com.au/football/player/_/id/219713/Lautaro-Martínez) to add to his quite incredible catalogue of misses at this World Cup, planting a free header off-target at the other end. For several years in the build-up to this World Cup, this tiny Gulf State faced widespread criticism for [its treatment of LGBTQIA+ people](/football/fifa-world-cup/story/4808986/why-fifa-banned-lgbtq-onelove-armband-at-world-cup-in-qatar), migrant workers and women. Mbappe, who became the second player after Sir Geoff Hurst to score a hat trick in a World Cup final, won the Golden Boot. [Gonzalo Montiel](https://www.espn.com.au/football/player/_/id/228262/Gonzalo-Montiel) struck the winning spot kick but, inevitably, Messi commanded everybody's attention. The trophy presentation party included FIFA president Gianni Infantino, the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Argentina FA president Claudio Tapia and Macron. "There are no rivalries, everyone is pulling the same direction, and this is for the country. "This squad, these people, play for the people, for the Argentina fans. [Messi won't retire after World Cup win](/football/argentina-arg/story/4834620/lionel-messi-wont-retire-from-argentina-after-world-cup-title-win) If there was a match to cloud the conversation about whether the World Cup should ever have been staged here, then this was it. Messi, now 35 and in his final World Cup match, scored his seventh goal of these finals as a game played at a staggering intensity stretched remorselessly, absorbingly into extra time.

The streets have been taken over by delirious fans in stunning World Cup party scenes, while a Sunrise reporter gets lost on air.

[Cookie Guide](https://www.sevenwestmedia.com.au/cookies-guide). [Sunrise](https://7news.com.au/sunrise) when reporter Nathan Currie became lost in a crowd of passionate fans. [7plus >>](https://7plus.com.au/sport?utm_source=7NEWS&utm_medium=contextual-link&utm_campaign=sport-article) If you’d like to view this content, please adjust your . [won a penalty shoot-out with France](https://7news.com.au/sport/world-cup-soccer/lionel-messi-survives-kylian-mbappe-hat-trick-to-win-world-cup-final-in-penalty-shootout-drama-c-9205907) in what’s being described as the greatest final in the competition’s history. [their country’s first World Cup in 36 years](https://7news.com.au/sport/world-cup-soccer/lionel-messi-survives-kylian-mbappe-hat-trick-to-win-world-cup-final-in-penalty-shootout-drama-c-9205907).