Watch: Striking Similarity In Lionel Messi's Celebrations After Winning Major Trophies
FIFA World Cup: Lionel Messi won the one trophy missing from his cabinet in style on Sunday, when he scored a brace to inspire Argentina to a win over France in the 2022 FIFA World Cup final
Lionel Messi won the one trophy missing from his cabinet in style on Sunday, when he scored a brace to inspire Argentina to a win over France in the 2022 FIFA World Cup final. Messi scored two goals against France as the game ended 3-3 after extra-time, with Kylian Mbappe bagging a hat-trick for the reigning champions. Messi also netted in the shoot-out with goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez saving one penalty before Gonzalo Montiel banged in the winning spot-kick to send Argentine players and fans into raptures.
The Argentina camp broke in wild celebration after the win. And as Messi took the World Cup from FIFA President Gianni Infantino and approached his teammates, one found uncanny similarities with the way he celebrated the Finalissima 2022 and the Copa America 2021 triumphs.
Watch: Uncanny Similarity In Messi's Celebrations After Major Trophy Wins
The final was a torturous affair for many fans as Argentina lost a 2-0 half-time lead to be forced into extra-time.
France, just like the Netherlands did to Argentina in the quarter-finals, scored two late goals to prolong the match.
Having taken the lead again in extra-time, through Messi, Argentina were once more pegged back when Mbappe completed his hat-trick with another last gasp equalizer, condemning fans to the nail-biting drama of a penalty shoot-out.
The dust had barely settled on Sunday's World Cup final before attention turned to the gargantuan figure of 2026 looming on the horizon. For the first time, football's greatest tournament will be held across three host nations -- the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The tournament will notably see an expansion to 48 teams, up from the current 32-team format that has been in place since 1998, and double the number of teams that took part in the last World Cup held on US or Mexican soil.
With AFP inputs
Argentina
France
Lionel Messi