Argentina talisman Lionel Messi sent the Lusail stadium into raptures as he finally realised his dream of winning a World Cup, guiding his country to glory through a nerve-wracking penalty shootout against France in one of the greatest ever finals in Qatar.
Argentinian fans the world over erupted in wild celebrations as their team prevailed, scoring every spot kick while France squandered two of their efforts amid the mind games of Argentinian goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
Earlier Messi had scored a desperate goal in extra time to drag his team back in front of defending champions France – only for Kylian Mbappe to seal a hat-trick and set up a nerve-wracking penalty shootout.
The south American fans, who vastly outnumbered their French counterparts in Qatar, were powerless to contain their joy when the final penalty was scored, while the Argentinian players immediately burst into floods of tears as they mobbed their captain Messi.
Meanwhile, the race for the World Cup Golden Boot went right down to the wire, but in the end it was Kylian Mbappe who claimed the prestigious award in Qatar. Becoming the second man in history to score a hat trick in a final match.
Mbappe finished the tournament with eight goals and two assists, in turn seeing off competition from Lionel Messi, Olivier Giroud and Julian Alvarez. But it was Messi who had the last laugh, as Argentina eventually won on penalties.
