Finally

So the World Cup is over and the final will go down as one of the greatest in history. When a player scores a World Cup Final hat-trick and still doesn’t win the title how could it not be right?

For the first 80 minutes of the match though there was little sign of what was to come. It looked like being a simple stroll in the park for Messi’s Argentina as they powered into a 2 goal lead before half-time. Argentina were walking all over a French team that seemed to have decided that they had no chance to win so why bother trying.

Messi gave the Argentines the lead with a penalty after 23 minutes and by the time DiMaria doubled his team’s lead 9 minutes before half time all that seemed to be in doubt was just how many goals they would get. France really were abysmal and with the result now a forgone conclusion I started to drift off, to the point that I was barely bothering to keep half an eye on the procession to full-time. It was a good thing I didn’t completely take my eyes off it though as France finally fired themselves into life with 10 minutes left in the match.

Perhaps the time-crunch focused their minds but whatever it was that woke them up all I can say is thank goodness. Within 120 seconds of stirring from their slumber France had wiped out the Argentine lead and the match was level with just 8 minutes of normal time left for either side to find the winner. This insane turn of events was particularly harsh on Argentina, but such is football and it was all down to Kylian Mbappe. It was his quickfire double, started with a penalty, that had clawed the French level.

Neither team managed to secure the goal they needed to prevent extra time and it was in that extra 30 minutes that things really kicked off. Both teams found another gear and just went at each other hell-for-leather. Despite this new attacking philosophy that had hit both teams neither had been able to find the back of the net by half time in extra time, setting us up for a nail-biting final 15.

It took just 3 minutes of that for Argentina to retake the lead their dominance of the regulation 90 deserved, but even that wasn’t straightforward. The ball was fired towards goal from extremely acute angle and though this ball was parried away by an inspired Hugo Lloris at his near post the ball bounced out to Messi lurking in the six yard box to power home. There was a moment’s delay whilst the technology confirmed that the desperate goal-line clearance had been in vain, but this complete Messi wheeled away safe in the knowledge that he had just scored the winning goal that would return the World Cup to Argentina and fulfil a life’s dream for the genius.

Or so he thought.

Unfortunately this fairytale ending was not to be as, in the dying seconds of extra time a pile driver from the boot of Mbappe struck an Argentine hand just 4 yards away in the box. There was no chance for the defender to get out of the way of the shot, but this didn’t matter to the ref as he pointed to the spot. France now had the chance to take the game to a shoot-out and they gifted this opportunity to Mbappe to complete his hat-trick. He didn’t need asking twice, sweeping the ball high to the keeper’s right to snatch the trophy from Messi’s grasp and send the game to the lottery of the penalty shoot-out.

France won the toss and chose to go first, a smart call as the team who goes first wins the majority of shoot-outs. What the French didn’t reckon on was Emiliano Martinez, the Argentine keeper etched himself into history as a national hero by singlehandedly winning the shootout for his country. Sone may feel that his antics, including chucking the ball away from the advancing French, went a little far but even his detractors must admit they were effective.

Granted they didn’t have much effect on Mbappe as he completed a hat-trick of penalties by firing this one high to the keepers right to get France started right, but the wheels soon came off their ‘victory wagon’. Kingsley Coman was next up for the French and this time Martinez got down to his left to keep it out with his face. The keeper followed this up by getting so far inside Tchouameni’s head that he shanked his penalty wide of the left stick to leave Argentina, who had scored with each of their penalties so far, the chance to wrap things up with a stroke to spare. Gonzalo Muntiel needed no second invitation as he followed the path set out by Messi’s stylish opener by smashing it to Lloris’ right to seal Argentina’s first World Cup since 1986.

Argentina had deserved to win the match within the regulation 90, so at least justice was done even if it was a little slow. On a personal level for the genius Messi, one of the best ever, he was able to fulfil a lifelong dream.

In his final World Cup match he finally got his hands on the trophy.

Congratulations Argentina, Congratulations Lionel Messi!