The whole world celebrated with Argentina on the evening of December 18, 2022, when they won the FIFA World Cup, beating the defending champion - France. The match went into a nail-biting penalty shootout that had the South American football giant win by 4-2.
The match, which was even at 3-3 before the shootouts, is celebrated for its back-and-forth nature and many are already hailing it as one of the best finals in the history of the FIFA World Cup.
It has been one of the biggest football wins for Argentina as they have not won a World Cup Title in 36 years. The last time they won the title was in 1986.
As the winner was declared, street parties erupted all over the Argentine nation. To say the country was hungry for a win is a huge understatement.
Now, lets take a look at Argentina’s journey to winning the FIFA World Cup 2022 title.
Albiceleste and the World Cup, a Quick History
The Argentina National Football Team is fondly referred to as Albiceleste.
Before the 2022 win, they were tied with their finals opponent, France, with two wins each. But whereas the French won back in 2018, Argentina has not tasted World Cup victory since 1986. Their other win was back in 1978.
They have also made it to the finals three times in 1930, 1990, and 2014.
Albiceleste went into the 2022 World Cup finals as a favorite. Its no secret that team captain and football legend Lionel Messi has been itching for a win since they nearly made it back in 2014.
The Perfect Storm
Argentina had a spectacular lineup going into the 2022 World Cup and they were one of the two teams who were considered favorites to win the entire thing.
The team was a mix of veterans and extremely talented young players and was helmed by one of the greatest footballers to have hailed from the country Lionel Messi. Without a doubt, the best footballers the world had ever seen.
The World Cup title was the only major title the multiple Ballon dOr winners does not have to his name and his determination to get it was palpable. Especially since he is getting on in age and the 2022 World Cup is likely his last shot at winning it.
The Road to the Cup
Albiceleste seemed more than primed to take the title and take it they did but not without an early hiccup that put a damper on the teams confidence.
In the Group Stages, Saudi Arabia staged a stunning upset. One of the weakest teams in the cup beat one of its giants. And it was a spectacle.
The embarrassing loss meant that the men in white didn’t have any wiggle room for mistakes, otherwise their World Cup dreams would swiftly come crumbling down.
In what was considered do-or-die games, Argentina defeated both Mexico and Poland to help ensure they stay in the tournament.
Experience won out over any form of luck and the Argentine’s pulled through the group stages.
It wasn’t near over yet tough as they still had to go up against some of the best teams in the tournament. Australia and the Netherlands awaited them.
Next, they made quick work of their match against Croatia, defeating the European team 3-Nil and setting up an exciting final with France.
Messi’s Magic
Argentine fans expected Messi to deliver and he did not disappoint. He had been doing spectacularly well in the other matches leading up to the finals.
In their semis against Croatia, he admitted that they did not start well but the seven-time Ballon dOr winner clocked in a remarkable performance then and again in the finals against France.
Fans chanted Messi’s name and called him genio or genius.
One of the best football players in the history of the sport, Messi is hailed as a football god and as a national hero by many Argentinians.
The Match Itself
The FIFA 2022 World Cup Final was attended by 88,966 fans and was held at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar. It was refereed by Polish referee Szymon Marciniak.
France went into the finals as defending champions. They had won the title back in 2018 and this was the first time since 2002 that they were in their second consecutive FIFA World Cup Finals.
The European nation was aiming for a back-to-back victory.
The match was kicked off at 18:00 local time or (15:00 UTC). Argentina opened up the scoring when Messi scored a penalty kick. Di Maria later doubled up their lead with a goal 38 minutes in. They went into halftime with Argentina leading 2-0.
France failed all goal attempts until the 70-minute mark when Kylian Mbappe scored a penalty shot and added another one less than two minutes later, equaling the score.
The match then went into extra time and Messi once again scored, returning Argentina to the lead but Mbappe equaled the score again with a third goal. He is now just the second player in the history of the FIFA World Cup to have made a hat-trick.
With the score tied at 3-3, the match went into a penalty shootout. Argentina scored all four penalty kicks while France only scored 2, giving the Argentina National Football Team the win.
Post-Match
Argentina is the first South American and non-European country to win the World Cup since Brazil achieved the feat back in 2002.
Messi was named The Man of the Match and was awarded the Golden Ball Award, his second after winning it back in 2014. He is the first player to have won this award twice in his career. He was also awarded the Silver Boot for scoring the second-most goals in the tournament.
The Argentine also now holds the record for the most World Cup appearances, surpassing Lothar Matthaus.
Mbappe received the Golden Boot for the most goals in the tournament. He scored a total of eight goals, the most since Cristiano Ronaldo back in 2002.
The French player also took home the Silver Ball as the second-best player of the tournament.
The 6 goals made in the finals match put the 2022 World Cup goals total at 172, a new record that surpassed the 171 goals made in 1998 and 2014.
Emiliano Martinez of Argentina was awarded the Golden Glove and named the best goalkeeper of the 2022 World Cup. The Young Player Award was awarded to Albicelestes Enzo Fernandez.
Argentinas third win puts them behind Brazil with 5 wins and Germany and Italy with 4 wins.