Argentina Wins Third World Cup in Thrilling Penalty Shootout
December 18, 2022 – On Sunday, Argentina won their third World Cup in a thrilling match against France. The game ended in a 3-3 draw, with both teams scoring twice in extra time.
Argentina’s victory came down to a penalty shootout, where they defeated France 4-2.
Lionel Messi scored twice for Argentina, while Kylian Mbappé scored a hat-trick for France. Argentina had taken an early lead with a penalty from Messi and a goal from Angel Di Maria.
However, France fought back with Mbappé’s two late goals in regular time, taking the match to extra time. Messi put Argentina ahead again, but Mbappé equalized with another penalty.
In the shootout, Argentina’s Emiliano Martinez saved a penalty from Kingsley Coman, and Aurelien Tchouameni missed his shot, allowing Gonzalo Montiel to score the winning penalty for Argentina.
The victory marked Messi’s fifth attempt at winning the World Cup and his first triumph. It also elevated him to the level of Diego Maradona, who led Argentina to their second World Cup victory in 1986.
For the 2022 World Cup, the Adidas Golden Boot Award went to France’s Kylian Mbappe for being the top goalscorer for the tournament.
Mbappe scored his sixth, seventh and eighth goals of the 2022 tournament to take his total to 12 in the competition overall.
He edged out Argentina forward Lionel Messi, who scored twice in the final himself, and ended the World Cup with seven goals as well as being handed the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player.
