Beginning because the favourites to win the FIFA World Cup, Lionel Messi’s Argentina have justified the tag by occurring to win the title after beating France within the last. Beginning the event with a serious hiccup, the coach Lionel Scaloni-led facet’s World Cup marketing campaign appeared in jeopardy as Saudi Arabia shocked them early.
Nonetheless, since then, not solely has the facet received their act collectively however confirmed they’re males on a mission by placing in medical performances with the group not relying on particular person brilliance.
FIFA World Cup: Fixtures | Outcomes | Factors Desk | Squads | Data
We check out their outcomes to this point within the event after which take a quick look at every of them in Argentina’s highway to the title.
Group CArgentina 1-2 Saudi ArabiaArgentina 2-0 MexicoPoland 0-2 Argentina
Knockout levels
Spherical of 16: Argentina 2-1 Australia
Quarter-final: Netherlands 2-2 Argentina (3-4 P)
Semi-final: Argentina 3-0 Croatia
Last: Argentina 3-3 France (4-2 P)
Group levels
Argentina 1-2 Saudi Arabia
Argentina have been seen as a scorching favorite to take this recreation as Messi & Co have been on a 36-match unbeaten run. The dialogue was, in truth, about what number of objectives their celebrity will rating in opposition to a lowly 51st-ranked Arab facet.
The match appeared underneath management as nicely with Messi scoring an early penalty whereas three extra objectives have been flagged offside because the Argentines ran havoc in Saudi defence. However all that modified within the opening six minutes of the second half. Salah Al-Shehri first silenced La Albiceleste followers with a burst into the field earlier than taking pictures it previous Emiliano Martinez. A couple of minutes later, the complete world was shocked as Salem Al-Dawsari pulled a Messi-esque effort into the far put up to offer the Inexperienced Falcons the lead.
Scores by no means modified past this level as Saudi Arabians claimed a memorable win.
Argentina 2-0 Mexico
With their backs in opposition to the wall, Argentina’s true character got here out as they responded with a medical efficiency for a 2-0 win in what was a cagey affair in Doha. The win was right down to the facet’s icon Messi, who shot the successful objective from 20 yards within the sixty fourth minute earlier than Enzo Fernandez put the sport past any doubt with a thunderbolt of a objective within the 87th minute.
Messi’s objective was of historic significance as he tied late Diego Maradona’s tally of eight objectives within the World Cup and got here a day after the second anniversary of Maradona’s dying.
Poland 0-2 Argentina
All these doubts of disjointed performances and failing to click on as a facet have been dispelled in opposition to Poland as Scaloni’s facet put ahead their finest present in opposition to Robert Lewandowski and Co. The sport did have its issues for the Argentines as Messi missed a penalty within the first half whereas they struggled to interrupt the cussed and bodily Polish defence. The sport additionally noticed the 2 veterans in Angel Di Maria and Messi assault in tandem however yielded no consequence.
All that modified as early as the primary minute within the second half as Alexis Mac Allister lastly broke the impasse whereas Julian Alvarez made the many of the momentum by doubling the lead within the 67th minute.
Knockout levels
Spherical of 16: Argentina 2-1 Australia
A match rated as Messi’s masterclass noticed the 35-year-old ahead unlock the Australian defence within the first half by operating into the Aussie field and bending the ball into the underside nook with a shot that was as calm and funky it could actually get. With the objective ended the long-time criticism of Messi not exhibiting up within the knockout levels of the World Cups earlier than.
The objective once more had historic significance because it was his a thousandth profession look and was his 789th profession objective. Nonetheless, it was Julian Alvarez, who determined the sport for Argentina as his 57th minute strike proved very important with an personal objective from Enzo Fernandez within the 77th minute resulting in an sudden nervy end to the sport. The Argentine, defence, nonetheless, efficiently held off with the Australian assault missing firepower and legs.
Quarter-final: Netherlands 2-2 Argentina (3-4 P)
Rated as match of the World Cup, the sport had all the things in a surprising comeback, late objective and a penalty shootout. It appeared enterprise as ordinary for Messi and Co, who took a 2-0 lead by the 73rd minute. It was Messi, who doubled the lead from the spot after establishing Nahuel Molina with a defence-splitting move within the thirty fifth minute.
The script, nonetheless, was written elsewhere. In all probability by Wout Weghorst, who impressed a late rally with objectives within the 83rd and 90+eleventh minutes.
Argentina in the end had the final snicker as Argentine custodian Emiliano left his mark within the event with two very important saves because the South American facet clinched the shootout 4-3 for a memorable win.
Semi-final: Argentina 3-0 Croatia
Argentina pulled off essentially the most dominant efficiency of their Qatar marketing campaign to this point with a 3-0 win over Croatia within the first semi-final on the Lusail Stadium, the identical venue the place they are going to be up in opposition to France within the grand finale on Sunday.
Each Messi and Alvarez continued their red-hot run within the event, scoring inside a couple of minutes of one another to make sure the two-time world champions went into the interval with a two-goal cushion. Messi put the Argentines within the lead with a Thirty fourth-minute penalty, turning into the all-time main goal-scorer for his nation on the World Cup, whereas Alvarez breached the Croatian defence with a spirited run 5 minutes later, tapping the ball in calmly previous goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic.
Messi would then produce one more magical help on the opposite facet of the half-time interval, slipping previous Josko Gvardiol to set Alvarez up for a 3rd objective within the 69th minute, one which put the consequence past doubt and dashed Croatia’s hopes of reaching a second consecutive World Cup last.
Last: Argentina 3-3 France (4-2 on penalties)
The dream lastly got here true for Messi and Argentina on Sunday, 18 December on the Lusail Iconic Stadium the place the Lionel Scaloni-coached facet ended France’s four-year maintain on the trophy by beating them in an exciting, high-scoring last to be topped world champions for a 3rd time.
And it was star ahead Messi who was the person of the second within the grand finale, given he had earlier introduced his intention to retire from worldwide soccer on the finish of Argentina’s World Cup marketing campaign in Qatar. Messi scored twice, changing a penalty within the twenty third minute to place his facet forward and doing the identical in further time.
His Paris Saint-Germain teammate Kylian Mbappe although, had different plans as he fired a hat-trick — turning into the primary in males’s soccer to attain a hat-trick in a World Cup last since Geoff Hurst in 1966 — to make sure the sport went right into a penalty shootout.
The cherry on prime of the cake for Argentina was goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez doling out a repeat of his heroics in opposition to Netherlands, stopping one with one other going marginally huge as La Albiceleste held their nerve to win the penalty shootout 4-2, and within the course of, the glittering trophy!
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