Argentina vs France. Europe vs South America. Holders vs Hopefuls. Messi vs Mbappe. Messi. Versus. Ronaldo.
A World Cup is at stake. The G.O.A.T. debate is at stake. History is at stake.
Argentina used a 4-4-2 system. It served them well against Croatia. Paredes is on the bench and Di Maria switched to the left side, hoping to capitalise on Dembele’s shortcomings in defence while utility man De Paul played on the right.
France’s only change is Upamecano for Konate. Their injury and viral fears before the match seem to be overblown.
France had a very shaky start to the game. Their midfield was completely overrun and they couldn’t link their defensive and attacking lines. Argentina were lively and utterly dominant tactically.
Di Maria added a new dimension to Argentina’s attack. He was extremely dangerous on the left flank and was a huge handful for France.
The Di Maria tactic paid off through Dembele’s lousy and naive defending which earned Argentina a penalty.
Argentina seemed set for the title when the passive French defence was breached on an Argentina counter, MacAllister setting it up for Di Maria, who, with his quality, was never going to miss from there. Di Maria was in tears after his goal.
France’s attack was suffocated and their midfield struggled. Argentina dominated the area between France’s midfield and defensive lines. France was dearly missing the midfield authority of Kante and Pogba.
France acknowledged their dire situation and abysmal play by taking off Giroud and Dembele for Thuram and Kolo Muani in the 41st minute, a strategy they used against Morocco when they were leading. Mbappe moved centrally.
France created 0.00 expected goals (xG) in the first half.
Halfway through the 2nd half Acuna was brought on for Di Maria to bolster the defence. Argentina planned to sit back and play to their lead.
I thought the World Cup final was going to be an anti-climax. The game was drab and dreary… before Otamendi fouled Kolo Muani in the box!
Mbappe dispatched the penalty and life was breathed into the game. Surely France would not come back! But they did. This World Cup was not quite done yet in entertaining the world.
Coman wrestled the ball from Messi, and the ball was delivered to Mbappe who scored a stupendous equaliser, making the game head to extra time.
Argentina overwhelmed France in the first half of added time to the fury of Deschamps.
And just when you thought the scriptwriters were just tying up loose ends… no. They served up a final course of drama in extra time.
Lloris made a snapshot save when France’s defence was broken once again, shifting the world to the edge of their seats. Messi was in the right place at the right time to score what may be the winner. Upamecano made a ridiculous goal-line clearance, but the ball had crossed the line! Argentina have led again!
It still wasn’t over! Mbappe lobbed the ball for a shot which hit Montiel’s outstretched arm! Penalty! Mbappe rounded off a supreme display for his country with a hat-trick!
There’s more! Kolo Muani was through on goal and was one-on-one with Martinez, who did spectacularly to save. It could have been 4-3, a double comeback win for France in the 123rd minute—the last minute of the game! What an ending that could have happened, denied by the frame of Martinez.
Penalties. A final showdown. Mbappe scored the first. He’s done all he could for his country. It’s up to his teammates now. To Argentina’s jubilation and France’s misery, Coman and Tchouameni missed their penalties. Classic lack of end product by Kingsley Coman. Lloris did not have the unsettling aura of his counterpart Martinez and failed to save a single penalty.
To the delight of Messi fans all over the world, he finally added the most coveted trophy in the world to his illustrious collection. What a player. What a career.
The pre-match narrative centred around a clash between Messi and Mbappe, and it was very much so, with 5 goals between the pair.
I can’t help but think the referee favoured Argentina. He was generally stricter towards the French. It was an iffy penalty for Argentina and how was that not a backpass to Martinez in the 94th minute? Also, Argentina’s substitutes were on the pitch as their 3rd was scored, meaning it should have been ruled out. VAR definitely saw that, if not the officials on the ground.
Also, Emi Martinez was very classless, uncultured and disrespectful for what he did when collecting his Golden Glove…you’re 30 years old, Emiliano.
After his imperious display against Morocco, Konate should have started. He could have made a difference in a French backline which conceded 3 goals without him on the pitch. Upamecano wasn’t bad, but 2 were conceded due to positional lapses which could have been avoided with a change in personnel.
Playing Di Maria on the left was certainly a tactical surprise and it paid dividends. It was a key difference between the 2 teams in a first half where Mbappe hardly got the ball.
Check out this drone shot😮
What a game. What a finale. What an epic World Cup this has been. Homer would be proud.
BLOGOPUS 