Argentina beat France to win World Cup final in Qatar

DOHA: Argentina defeated France 4-2 in a penalty shoot-out to win the World Cup for the third time on Sunday. Argentina captain Lionel Messi scored twice and France striker Kylian Mbappe hit a hattrick as a thrilling World Cup final finished 3-3 after extra time at the Lusail Stadium.

In an extraordinary night of high drama, Argentinian substitute Gonzalo Montiel stroked home the winning spot-kick to seal an agonising shoot-out loss for defending champions France. France had fought back from 2-0 down and 3-2 down in extra-time to make it 3-3 and take the game to penalties.

Messi had given Argentina the lead from the penalty spot in the first half before Angel Di Maria made it 2-0. The Argentinians looked to be cruising to victory until Mbappe scored twice in the 80th and 81st minutes to level it at 2-2.

France looked the likelier team to go on and win it, but Messi put Argentina 3-2 ahead in extra-time after poking home from close range after Lautaro Martinez's shot was parried by France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. But there was more drama two minutes from the end of extra-time when Montiel conceded a penalty for handball.