Lionel Messi put Argentina ahead from the penalty spot in the 23rd minute. Ángel Di María made it 2-0 in the 36th. For 80 minutes, Argentina controlled the match. Then, in the 80th minute, Kylian Mbappé scored a penalty. He scored again 97 seconds later. The game was level. Messi scored in the 108th minute of extra time. Mbappé equalized with another penalty in the 118th. The match ended 3-3. Argentina won the shootout 4-2. Gonzalo Montiel converted the final penalty. Messi, at 35, finally had his World Cup.
The narrative before the final focused on Messi’s quest for the one trophy that eluded him. The match itself obliterated that single storyline. It became a relentless, oscillating drama of collective collapse and individual brilliance. France failed to record a shot on target for 67 minutes. Mbappé’s hat-trick—the first in a final since 1966—erased that stat. The game contained two distinct matches: Argentina’s tactical mastery for most of regulation, and a chaotic, breathless battle of wills for its conclusion.
Many remember the shootout victory. The more profound truth is that Argentina won a game they had thoroughly dominated, then lost, then dominated again, then lost again. It was a victory of resilience, not just skill. Goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez’s critical save on Randal Kolo Muani in the final seconds of extra time is often overshadowed by the goals.
The final did not crown the best team of the tournament in a pure sense. It crowned the team that survived the most psychologically devastating match in the competition’s history. It provided a definitive, almost novelistic endpoint to Messi’s international career. It also established Mbappé, the runner-up who scored three goals, as the heir. The trophy went to Argentina. The legacy was shared.