2022 World Cup Final

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Part of a series on 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar. [View Related Entries]

Overview

The 2022 World Cup Final was a championship football match played between France and Argentina in Qatar at the conclusion of the 2022 World Cup. The thrilling game went to penalty kicks, where Argentina ultimately won the game and the championship. Afterward, many hailed it as the greatest World Cup Final ever thanks to its thrilling back-and-forth play and narrative significance, as it meant that Lionel Messi, widely considered one of the greatest players of all time, finally won a World Cup title in what many believe will be his final World Cup.

Background

On December 18th, 2022, France and Argentina played in the World Cup Final. Among the key storylines going into the game was that it was presumed to be Lionel Messi's final chance at winning a World Cup title, seen as the ultimate prize in football.^[1] Meanwhile, France was gunning for its second World Cup title in a row while fielding Kylian Mbappé, a young star widely thought to be Messi and Ronaldo's successor as the best in the game.

Argentina appeared dominant for much of the game and had a 2-0 lead going into halftime. However, near the end of the second half, Kylian Mbappé scored two goals in the span of two minutes, and France suddenly tied the game 2-2 after appearing listless for practically the entire match up to that point. The game went into extra time, where Argentina scored with ten minutes to play, but France was able to equalize thanks to Mbappé scoring on a penalty kick, giving him three goals for the evening. France nearly scored the winner in the 123rd minute, but Argentinian goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez was able to make a clutch save to send the game to penalty kicks. There, Argentina won 4-2, taking the championship.

Developments

The game was widely hailed as the Greatest World Cup Final of All Time thanks in large part to how swiftly the game picked up once France scored its first goal.^[1] Messi finally winning the World Cup also proved narratively satisfying to many fans of the soccer star.^[2] Messi's Instagram post after winning the World Cup gained 46 million likes in less than 24 hours, making it the most-liked Instagram post by an athlete of all time^[3] (shown below, left). Twitter user @ClintSmithIII^[4] remarked how sentimental it was that many Argentinian players who grew up idolizing Messi helped him win the World Cup (shown below, right).

Macron Consoling Mbappé

Macron Consoling Mbappé refers to video and pictures of French President Emmanuel Macron and French national team star Kylian Mbappé following France's loss in the 2022 World Cup. Mbappé appeared indifferent or even annoyed by Macron's touching him and talking to him as he sat with his emotions after a particularly eventful and tense final.