At the end of the first half of the final, Argentina was leading 2-0 with the help of fabulous goals by Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria.
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Lionel Messi, Argentina’s captain, became the first ever player to score a goal in the group stage, round of 16, quarterfinal, semifinal, and final of the FIFA World Cup 2022. Argentina was awarded a penalty in the 23rd minute of the game, and Messi used the opportunity to convert it into a goal and take Argentina to a 1-0 lead in the final game against France at Lusail Stadium on Sunday.
Argentina’s first goal was hit by Lionel Messi, while Angel Di Maria hit the second goal for the team to take the lead to 2-0 before the second half of the game. With this goal in the final game against France, Messi also became the first player to be involved in 20 goals in the World Cup, the only player to achieve this feat since 1968.
Coming back to the game, Julian Alvarez was given a good opportunity to put Hugo Lloris to the test as Argentina, led by Lionel Messi, took the lead early. Alvarez had two chances to score in the opening five minutes. Di Maria passed the ball to him close to the Argentina goalkeeper. Even though he was offside, a long shot was fired three minutes later at Lloris. Argentina made a smart move, which allowed Mac Allister to get a shooting opportunity.
However, France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was successful in saving the goal for his team. Messi, with his contribution, again passed the ball to Angel di Maria from the midfield, who dribbled and passed the shot to Rodrigo de Paul. The shot, however, was blocked by Lloris.
Within 14 minutes of the game, Kylian Mbappe tried to turn things around for his team, but it didn’t materialize.
Ousmane Dembele made a mistake by knocking down Angel Di Maria in the penalty box. Di Maria falls inside the French penalty box after being tackled by Dembele. Lionel Messi used the penalty to the team’s advantage and added one more goal to his tally of world cup goals. In the 23rd minute of the game, he scored his sixth World Cup goal, giving Argentina a 1-0 lead. Angel Di Maria scored the second goal for the team when Mac Allister passed the ball to him to score a brilliant goal in the bottom right corner in the 36th minute of the game.
In the 41st minute of the game, France made two substitutions, substituting Oliver Giraoud and Ousmane Dembele with Marcus Thuram and Randal Kolo Muani. 7 minutes were added to the first half of the game due to interruptions in the game due to injuries. By the end of the first half of the game, Argentina was leading. France made a comeback with Mbappe hitting two goals consecutively in the 80th and 81st minutes. But as the scores were level by the end of the game, 3-3. A penalty shootout decided the game’s result. Argentina won the penalty shootout by 4-2 and took the 2022 FIFA World Cup trophy home, fulfilling Lionel Messi’s dream.