Yukihito Taguchi-USA TODAY Sports

Argentina's World Cup win was an all-time classic

By Adam Gretz | Last updated 12/18/22

The only thing Lionel Messi was missing in his legendary career was a World Cup.

He got it on Saturday by helping Argentina to a thrilling win over France in the World Cup final that will almost certainly go down as one of the greatest soccer matches ever played.

Messi scored two goals, including one in extra time, to help lead Argentina to the win on penalty kicks. But it was not as simple as it seemed it would be when Argentina raced out to a 2-0 lead that it held until the 80th minute.

That was when chaos started to unfold.

Just when it seemed that France was going to go away without much of a push, Kylian Mbappe scored two goals in 90 seconds to bring the two sides even.

MBAPPE ARE YOU SERIOUS?!

FRANCE TIES IT pic.twitter.com/qZLzNz3aow
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 18, 2022

From that point on, the match was played with a frantic pace that saw both teams trade chances and highlight saves for the duration of regular time and extra time.

It was during extra time that Messi scored his second goal of the match with less than 10 minutes to play, capping off another stellar sequence. The play was just barely onside, allowing the goal to stand.

¡¡¡GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL DE ARGENTINAAAAAAAAAA!!!

¡¡¡LEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MEEEEEEEEESSIIIIII!!! ¡DOBLETEEEEEEE DE LEEEEOOOOO!

¡A MINUTOS DE SER CAMPEONES!#ARG 3-2 #FRA #MundialTelemundo #ElMundialLoEsTodo #Qatar2022 #ARGvsFRA pic.twitter.com/49Yd3TYmQB
— Telemundo Deportes (@TelemundoSports) December 18, 2022

It looked like that was going to be the winner, but just a few minutes later Mbappe scored on a penalty kick for France to complete his hat trick and again bring the game even. Both teams had sensational chances before time ran out.

Argentina ended up winning 4-2 on penalties after France had two misses on its second and third attempts.

You could not have drawn up a better final. Not only with the intrigue of an all-time great getting his first World Cup, but also the way France improbably erased the two-goal deficit in the final two minutes, the frantic pace, and the two teams exchanging chances throughout regular time and extra time.

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