Argentina’s Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after receiving the Golden Ball award on Sunday. REUTERS
Doha: Argentina clinched their first FIFA World Cup title in 36 years when Lionel Messi & Co. emerged victorious over the heartbroken Frenchmen in front of a full house at the Lusail Stadium on Sunday.
Messi and his teammates joined worldwide celebrations and continued to party all night until the morning following the magnificent win what many called the ‘greatest world cup final ever.’
They had all the reasons to do so.
Argentina became the first South American team to win World Cup since Brazil in 2002, and the victory was their first since 1986.
Their only loss in their last 43 international matches came in their opening match of the Qatar tournament, when they were handed a shocking defeat by Saudi Arabia in Group C.
They also become just the second team to win the World Cup title after losing their opening game, after Spain did the same in 2010 following their loss to Switzerland.
Sunday’s final also saw Argentina’s seventh penalty shootout in FIFA World Cup history. The 4-2 shootout win was their sixth win.
Argentina’s first goal in the final was their 150th in FIFA World Cup history and only Brazil and Germany have scored more.
They scored a total of 15 goals at Qatar 2022, their highest since 1978 (15). Their all-time highest goal tally is 18, scored in the inaugural World Cup tournament in 1930.
Player of the tournament Messi also topped the table as all-time record appearance maker in FIFA World Cup history with 26. Messi, who scored the opening goal in the final, tied Just Fontaine on 13 World Cup goals. Miroslav Klose (16), Ronaldo (15) and Gerd Müller (14) have scored more.
Messi also became the second oldest goalscorer in a FIFA World Cup final at the age of 35 years and 177 days while his teammate Angel Di Maria become the third oldest at the age of 34 years and 307 days behind Sweden’s Nils Liedholm (35 years and 264 days) in 1958.
Messi also become the first player to score in the group stage, round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final in a single edition of the FIFA World Cup.
Messi’s total of seven goals is the most by an Argentinian player in a World Cup since Guillermo Stabile (8) in the 1930 tournament in Uruguay.
Despite their painful defeat, France also set their mark in history with some impressive facts and figures.
France’s total of 16 goals in Qatar is their highest since they scored the same in 1982. Les Bleus’ best effort however, was in 1958 when they netted 23 goals on their way to win the third place.
France have only failed to score in one of their last 16 FIFA World Cup knockout stage matches.
Prior to the Sunday’s final, France were unbeaten in their last 11 FIFA World Cup matches against South American nations.
France’s Kylian Mbappe scored a brilliant hat-trick which did not help them overpower Argentina, but it surely changed the course of the final match. By doing so, he became only the second player to score a hat-trick in a FIFA World Cup final after Geoff Hurst in 1966 for England. The Paris Saint-Germain star is also the second French player to finish as top goalscorer in a FIFA World Cup final competition after Just Fontaine in 1958.
Mbappe, who celebrates his 24th birthday today, also became the fifth and youngest player (23 years and 363 days) to score in two FIFA World Cup final matches after Vava (1958, 1962), Pele (1958, 1970), Paul Breitner (1974, 1982), and Zinedine Zidane (1998, 2006).
In contrast, his teammate Olivier Giroud is the third oldest outfield player to play in a World Cup final at the age of 36 years and 79 days following Sweden’s Gunnar Gren (37 years and 241 days) in 1958 and Brazil’s Nilton Santos (37 years and 32 days) in 1962.
Overall, the tournament saw 172 goals being scored - more than any other FIFA World Cup tournament. The previous highest total of 171 came in 1998 and 2014.
Milestones:
- Argentina’s first goal in the final was their 150th in FIFA World Cup history and only Brazil and Germany have scored more.
- They scored a total of 15 goals at Qatar 2022, their highest since 1978 (15). Their all-time highest goal tally is 18, scored in the inaugural World Cup tournament in 1930.
- Player of the tournament Messi also topped the table as all-time record appearance maker in FIFA World Cup history with 26.
- France’s Kylian Mbappe became only the second player to score a hat-trick in a FIFA World Cup final after Geoff Hurst in 1966 for England.
- The Paris Saint-Germain star is also the second French player to finish as top goalscorer in a FIFA World Cup final competition after Just Fontaine in 1958.
- Mbappe, who celebrates his 24th birthday today, also became the fifth and youngest player (23 years and 363 days) to score in two FIFA World Cup final matches after Vava (1958, 1962), Pele (1958, 1970), Paul Breitner (1974, 1982), and Zinedine Zidane (1998, 2006).
- Argentina became the first South American team to win World Cup since Brazil in 2002, and the victory was their first since 1986.
