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Argentina win World Cup on penalties over France as Messi vows to play on: Live updates, reaction and analysis
Summary
Lionel Messi has led Argentina to World Cup glory after the most thrilling final in the 92-year history of the tournament.
Argentina took the lead through Messi and Angel Di Maria, only for Kylian Mbappe to score a late brace. Messi restored Argentina’s lead in extra time, but Mbappe again hit back for France, completing his hat-trick and taking the game to a penalty shootout.
Argentina won the shootout 4-2, to claim the World Cup and victory in one of the sport’s all-time great games.
(Photo: Getty Images)
Carlo Ancelotti distances himself from Brazil speculation
Carlo Ancelotti has distanced himself from reports linking him to the vacancy with the Brazil national team by revealing he plans to stay at Real Madrid until 2024.
The 63-year-old is enjoying his second spell at the Santiago Bernabeu having previously managed the Spanish club from June 2013 until May 2015.
He returned to Madrid in June 2021 before leading the club to a La Liga and Champions League double last season.
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Tchouameni, Coman and Kolo Muani receive vile racist abuse after World Cup final defeat
France trio Aurelien Tchouameni, Kingsley Coman and Randal Kolo Muani all received racial abuse on their social media accounts in the aftermath of their national team’s World Cup final defeat.
Coman and Tchouameni both missed penalties during the shootout in which Argentina won 4-2 after an entertaining 3-3 draw in Qatar, while Muani had a chance to win the game for France late in extra time but was denied by Emiliano Martinez.
The trio were bombarded with vile messages — including monkey and banana emojis — once Argentina were crowned champions on Sunday.
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Varane on impact of virus on France squad before World Cup final: ‘I wasn’t well’
Raphael Varane has admitted he “wasn’t well” after a virus impacted the France camp ahead of the World Cup final.
France lost on penalties after a 3-3 draw, with Didier Deschamps’ side performing especially poorly in the first 80 minutes of the match.
Varane and captain Hugo Lloris said they were “empty” and “drained”.
“We’re not going to hide behind excuses,” said Lloris. “It hasn’t been easy over the last few days. Despite the virus, we tried to prepare for the match in the best way possible. One less recovery day may have counted, too.”
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Juror discharged in Benjamin Mendy case
One of the 12 jurors overseeing the Benjamin Mendy case has been discharged.
The court were informed on Friday that the juror was due to undergo an emergency eye operation. Following the procedure, they were informed he would not be able to return to court until January 3 at the earliest.
Instead of adjourning the case until the New Year, judge Steven Everett decided to discharge the juror “with great regret” and allow deliberations to continue without him.
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Penalty shootout dissected
Just the third World Cup final to go to penalties, and Emi Martinez was the hero.
Liam Tharme and Matt Pyzdrowski analyse his impact - and it is more than just saves.
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USMNT’s Christian Pulisic ‘still thinks’ about first-half chance during Netherlands World Cup loss
United States forward Christian Pulisic has revealed he still dwells over a missed first-half chance over two weeks after his side’s loss to the Netherlands.
In the third minute of the last-16 tie, Pulisic was through on goal, presented with a one-on-one chance against Netherlands keeper Andries Noppert.
His weak effort was saved however, and the Netherlands took a 2-0 lead by the end of the first-half after goals from Memphis Depay and Daley Blind.
“Had I finished that chance, the game goes differently,” he said.“I would love that back. I still think about it. It’s a learning experience. I think there’s a reason why it didn’t go in, things happened the way it did. It all happens for a reason.”
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Allan Saint-Maximin injury doubt for Newcastle EFL Cup tie against Bournemouth
Allan Saint-Maximin is a minor injury doubt for Newcastle United’s Carabao Cup fourth-round tie with Bournemouth at St James’ Park tomorrow night.
The 25-year-old limped off the pitch at the end of Newcastle’s 2-1 friendly victory over Rayo Vallecano on Saturday and will be assessed during training today.
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Argentina are the most tactically flexible World Cup winners we have ever seen
This is how World Cups are won. They are rarely won by truly legendary sides, and they are often not won by the outstanding side in the tournament. The World Cup isn’t about playing spectacular football all the way through; it’s simply about finding a way. It usually involves shutting down the opposition, and generally depends upon fine margins.
Argentina were not a perfect side. They lost to Saudi Arabia in the group stage. On two occasions, against the Netherlands in the quarter-final and France in the final, they blew two-goal leads and relied on a penalty shootout to triumph. They were slightly fortunate not to suffer the same fate against Australia in the second round. But tactically, they neutralised the opposition for long periods, particularly at the start of matches. They also maximised the influence of their best player.
It's not just as simple as that, though. Lionel Scaloni didn't have a Plan A. He had multiple plans. Michael Cox takes a deeper look below.
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Messi’s World Cup was a victory for Qatar too
On Sunday night, as this small Gulf nation has done so many times since Blatter pulled its name out of an envelope in 2010, Qatar revved up its turbo-charged supercar and brazenly bashed its way through convention. And again, Infantino was the willing facilitator — standing by, grinning and clapping, and letting Qatar do what it wanted while the world watched.
The message felt clear: this is our stage — and you are merely a player in it.
Argentina may have won the World Cup but this was a huge victory for Qatar too.
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Ancelotti on Brazil job rumours
Mentioned as a possible contender to replace Tite in the press, Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti told Radio Rai: “I don’t know the future but I’m so happy at Real Madrid. I’m under contract until 2024 and if they don’t sack me, I won’t leave.”
Does not look like it is happening.
The greatest night of the greatest's career
In the build-up to this final, The Athletic wrote extensively about Messi’s journey through four World Cup tournaments, about the parallels with Maradona and about the way both players have redefined the meaning of greatness in football.
We decided to approach Sunday’s final with a different perspective, reflecting Messi’s experiences — and the final steps of that odyssey before he leaves the World Cup stage for the final time — through his own words in the past as well as through his actions on a day which promised to define a glorious career.
As he said on Sunday evening, “This was the trophy I wanted all my life. This was my dream from childhood.” At the fifth and final time of asking, he has fulfilled that fantasy — and he did so in a way which, among other things, called upon the joyous, free-spirited football of his youth.
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Alan Shearer says thank you
"There has been a fractured reality all the way through the Qatar World Cup, from controversial inception to epic conclusion, from its timing in the middle of a busy season to its very location.
"We all knew that it would be a different tournament, a difficult tournament for many reasons. If there was anything approaching a sure bet it was that Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe would feature prominently in the storyline somewhere, but nobody would have predicted this."
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Tennis pays tribute
Roger Federer, who has won 20 Grand Slam singles titles and a record eight men’s singles Wimbledon titles, has said: “Fairytale stuff Argentina! Time and time again you (Messi) have redefined greatness. It's a privilege to watch you.”
And Andy Murray, the double Wimbledon and Olympic champion, has added: “Is Messi the best athlete of all time? Forget just football. What a man.”
The World Cup final analysed
One of the most exciting World Cup finals of all time was won on penalties by Argentina after Kylian Mbappe had scored a hat-trick to force the shootout.
Argentina were coasting to victory with an hour gone with the score at 2-0 thanks to goals by Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria. But when Di Maria came off in the 64th minute the game changed, and France and Mbappe’s confidence grew and grew.
The France forward scored twice in the space of two minutes, the first from the spot and the second a superb finish on the volley. That took the game to extra time.
Argentina went ahead through Messi’s close-range finish but Gonzalo Montiel’s handball gave Mbappe the chance to complete his hat-trick. He went the same way with his second penalty, hard to Emiliano Martinez’s right.
Martinez was Argentina’s hero in the shootout, saving a spot kick from Kingsley Coman before Aurelien Tchouameni put his effort wide. Montiel, who had given away the penalty in the 117th minute, scored the one that sealed the victory.
Stuart James, Phil Hay, Mark Carey and Liam Tharme analyse the key talking points…
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