World Cup 2022 final: Messi wins Golden Ball, Mbappe wins Golden Boot; Argentina clinches title after penalty shootout win
Argentina beat France 4-2 on penalties after the match ended 3-3 at the end of two-quarters of extra time at the Lusail International Stadium in front of a majority Argentine crowd that never once let its voice down.
In what comes as another jolly news for Argentine fans across the footballing landscape, their superstar Lionel Messi has indicated he has no plans of slowing down and that he wants to play as the world champion.
Argentina has won the Qatar World Cup 2022 to lift the World Cup trophy for the third time. This is the first time in a long time that a South American country has won the title. Argentina last won the World Cup in 1986, defeating Germany to claim its second title in three tournaments. That team was led by Diego Maradona, widely regarded as Argentina's greatest player. Argentina has come close to winning the World Cup twice since 1986, reaching the finals in 1990 and 2014. In both cases, Germany prevented Argentina from winning another championship.
“No, I’m not going to retire from the national team. I want to keep playing as World Cup champions with Argentina shirt," Messi was quoted as saying by various media outlets after the match.
"I wanted to close my career with this, it was the one that was missing so I can no longer ask for anything else. I was able to get the Copa America and now the World Cup that I had fought so hard for. I've got it at the end of my career."
Messi's sentiments were echoed by the national team coach Lionel Scaloni who said the little magician can continue to keep playing.
“If he wants to keep playing, he will be with us. He is more than entitled to decide whether he wants to keep playing for Argentina or not or what he wants to do with his career," an emotional Scaloni told media after the match.
“He is such a huge player for us. It is such a pleasure for us to coach him and his teammates. Everything he transmits to his teammates is unparalleled - something I’ve never seen before.”
Messi and his world-class performance on the biggest stage
Argentina beat France 4-2 on penalties after the match ended 3-3 at the end of extra time at the Lusail International Stadium.
Messi scored twice and converted from the spot during the penalty shootout to guide his team to the promised land.
Messi became the first player to win two Golden Ball awards, having previously bagged the trophy in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
The Golden Ball award is given to the best player of the tournament, Mbappe came second to him while Croatia's Luka Modric finished third. The Argentine narrowly missed on the Golden Boot award as Mbapped (8) bagged a hattrick in the final to nudge ahead of him (7) by a goal.
With the WC triumph, Messi has joined the likes of Kempes and Maradona to have won the elusive trophy.
Know how much money will the winners will be getting
A whopping $440 million has been set aside for distribution among the 32 competing teams at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Winner Argentina and runners-up France will receive the highest payouts, totaling $72 million in winnings. The grand finale of the FIFA World Cup 2022 was won by Argentina on Sunday, and they will be getting a cash prize worth $42 million. On the other hand, prize money of $30 million is set aside for the runner-up team France.
Source: wionews.com
🏆⚽ FIFA World Cup wins:
Brazil: 1958 ,1962 ,1970 ,1994 ,
Germany: 1954 ,1974 ,
Italy: 1934,1938 ,1982,2006
Argentine: 1978,1986, 2022
France: 1998,2018
Uruguay: 1930,1950
England: 1966
Spain: 2010
English (United States) ·