Argentina claimed their third FIFA World Cup title on Sunday, when they defeated France 4-2 in the penalty shootout after playing a 3-3 draw at the end of regular and the extra 30 minutes. The finale saw an evenly fought battle as France came from behind twice in the contest to force the match into tiebreakers.
It was Argentina, who took an early lead, after they were awarded a penalty for a foul on Angel Di Maria inside the D. Lionel Messi then broke the deadlock from the 12-yard range at the 23rd minute. The penalty was followed by another counterattacking goal by the South Americans. This time it was Di Maria, who got his name on the scoresheet.
Just when it felt like Argentina will bulldoze France with a 2-0 cushion, the Les Bleus scored an equaliser in the 81st minute. Both the goals came in the span of a minute, with French star Kylian Mbappe rising to the occasion.
Argentina once again managed to push France on the backfoot, with Messi and Co. hammering the third goal in the 108th minute. However, Mbappe once again spoiled Argentina's plans, as he scored an equaliser from the penalty spot in the 118th minute.
Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez then stole the show with his breathtaking display, as he made a crucial save during the final minutes and then saved two spot kicks to hand Argentina their third World Cup title.
{{/usCountry}}Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez then stole the show with his breathtaking display, as he made a crucial save during the final minutes and then saved two spot kicks to hand Argentina their third World Cup title.
{{/usCountry}}Google CEO Sundar Pichai in a tweet on Monday confirmed that the World Cup final tumbled past records in terms of search volume. “Search recorded its highest ever traffic in 25 years during the final of #FIFAWorldCup , it was like the entire world was searching about one thing!” he tweeted.
Shortly after the final, he hailed the match as “One of the greatest games ever,” and congratulated both the teams.
“Jogo Bonito. Nobody deserves it more than #messi, imho the greatest ever to play the game. What a swansong,” he tweeted.