The essential
- The home stretch of the 2022 World Cup was played this Sunday, December 18 at the Lusail stadium. The Argentinians, world champions in 1978 and 1986, faced the French team, champions in 1998 and 2018.
- The beginning of the match was marked by an overwhelming domination of Argentina, translated by a goal from Messi on penalty then another from the former Parisian Di Maria. Dominated two goals to nil at the end of the match, the Blues managed to catch up with their opponent in the score thanks to a double from Kylian Mbappé.
- In extra time, Lionel Messi almost snatched victory on a fatal counter-attack for the French defense. While all seemed lost, a penalty in favor of the French was whistled after a handball in the Argentinian area. Kylian Mbappé transformed it, thus scoring a hat-trick. The two teams had to decide on penalties. The Argentinians won 4-2 at the end of the session.
- Lionel Messi was crowned best player in the competition and Kylian Mbappé, top scorer (8 goals).
10:04 p.m. – Messi and Mbappé in the Top 10 of the best scorers of the World Cup
The new world champion Lionel Messi and the unfortunate finalist Kylian Mbappé, authors of seven and eight goals respectively at the World Cup in Qatar, join the Top 10 of the best scorers in the history of the World Cup. With a total of thirteen goals, including a double in the final (and a penalty), Messi occupies fourth place, tied with the Frenchman Just Fontaine, author of this feat at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden alone. Kylian Mbappé, who scored a hat-trick against Argentina (including two penalties), climbed to sixth place with a total of twelve goals, tied with “king” Pelé. This ranking is still led by former German international Miroslav Klose (16 goals).
9:34 p.m. – Les Bleus on the Champs-Élysées tomorrow?
Emmanuel Macron reacted again, at the microphone of BFMTV: “What this match tells us is that there is never a scenario written in advance. It is always possible. Every time we conceded a goal, I stood up to tell them ‘Let’s go again’. Everything is possible if we are united, all together and there is talent. That’s what she showed this team. And in the end… We’re out of luck. It’s even more infuriating and sad. There are lots of kids crying tonight, but France showed heart and unity. “The president especially praised the work of the coach: “Didier Deschamps has shown, once again, that he was an immense coach”, he greeted. “I will receive these players in a second time”, finally explained Emmanuel Macron, hinting that the Blues could be on the Champs-Élysées tomorrow. “It’s up to them and the Federation to see,” he explains.
9:15 p.m. – Lionel Messi ready to put on the shirt again
“I want to play a few more matches” as world champion, said Lionel Messi, after Argentina’s crowning in the World Cup final in Qatar. At 35, the Argentinian striker won his first World Cup, becoming Maradona’s equal in his country. Lionel Messi received the competition’s best player trophy. “Obviously I wanted to end my career with this (…) But I love football, I love what I do, I love being in the national team, being with this group. And obviously, I want to continue to live a few more matches being world champion, ”he said at the microphone of Argentine television.
“I can’t ask for more. I will almost end my career, these are my last years, ”said a peaceful and radiant Messi, who confessed to a feeling that Argentina would win. “I knew it, I had said it at some point, that God was going to give it to me, and I don’t know why, I had a feeling it was going to be this time. And that gives me immense joy.”
“We suffered a lot,” he said of the game. “It was a very strange match, like the other time with the Netherlands, and when we took the lead in extra time, it happened to us again”, to be joined in the score.
“She is beautiful,” he commented, looking at the Cup in his hands.
9:10 p.m. – “The French team has shown that it has qualities”, welcomed Noël Le Graët
“I feel both disappointment and pride, confided Noël Le Graët, at the microphone of BFMTV. The French team has shown that it has qualities. In the first half, we thought we were swept away, that it was inevitable and then they came back twice and very clearly. We even missed a ball at the last minute. So we can be proud of our team and its journey. »
On the morale of the Blues, he assures: “Only victory is beautiful, so inevitably, there is a lot of sadness and big regrets. But we must cheer them all up because their journey was unexpected by many observers. In most games they were up to the task and tonight they were quite heroic, because physically and technically they showed they were up to the task in the second half. It was a balanced match, which could have turned out in our favour. »
8:40 p.m. – Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, president of PSG, congratulates Qatar for the organization
“As a Qatari, I am very proud, very happy with what we have done. We showed the whole world that we are a country, that we are good people and not bad. The organization, the infrastructure, the security also in Qatar, the supporters, the training facilities, everything, I am very proud of my country. I’m sure it’s the best World Cup in history, “said Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, president of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), at the microphone of BeIN Sports.
As for the final poster, which saw two PSG stars clash, the Qatari confides: “It’s a mixture of emotions. I am sad for France, for Kylian. But we are happy for Leo Messi. France can be proud. Penalties are luck. France did the hard part by coming back to 2-2 and 3-3. It’s football. Everything can change in two minutes. We are very proud of Kylian, who had a great tournament. Proud of Messi too, he is 34 years old and he ends up with a World Cup, it may be his last. I am proud of the Paris-Saint Germain players. I spoke with all the players. It is the best final in the history of the World Cup. We couldn’t imagine more than that. I’m sad for France, but it was a magnificent final.
8:34 p.m. – “Kylian Mbappé is a very great player”, assures Emmanuel Macron
At the end of the match, Emmanuel Macron also spoke in the mixed zone: “It is one of the biggest World Cup finals that we have experienced, he assures. I am neither a player nor a coach. I can’t judge them. They made us proud. We were very far at the end of the first period. Some comebacks have already happened, but this remains very rare in the history of football. »
The president then continued on Kylian Mbappé. “It’s extraordinary what Mbappé did,” he enthused, before qualifying: “But the whole team is hungry again. “Kylian Mbappé is a very great player, but he is young. I told him he was only 24. He was the top scorer in this Cup, he has already won a World Cup. I’m not in the best position to try to reason with people tonight, because I was as sad as he was. I told them they made us proud. I have seen such sad people. It’s sport,” he said.
8:31 p.m. – Neymar congratulates Messi
Brazilian striker Neymar congratulated his Paris SG teammate, Lionel Messi, on Sunday for his world championship title with Argentina, after an anthology final won on penalties against France, in Doha. “Congratulations my brother,” the Seleçao star wrote on his social media, a message showing a photo of Messi all smiles, stroking the World Cup trophy with one hand, and holding that of the best player of the tournament. the other. Neymar, 30, and Messi, five years his senior, played four seasons together at FC Barcelona (from 2013 to 2017), before meeting at PSG a year and a half ago.