After four years, Argentina is the 2023 World Cup Champion. Defeating the previous champs, France, in a nail biting penalty shootout, this is Argentina’s third win in World Cup history. Argentina’s journey to the final started out rocky, suffering a 2-1 loss against Saudi Arabia with Lionel Messi being the lone scorer. However, in their next game against Mexico, the team rallied with a 2-0 victory. For the rest of the infamous soccer tournament, Argentina cruised to the semi finals where they defeated Croatia with a 3-0 win, they made it to the finals.
For the team’s star player, Lionel Messi, this game was one of the most important of his career. While the 2022 World Cup was Messi’s fifth time participating in arguably one of the largest sports events in the world, the international superstar had never won. Despite no previous World Cup wins, Messi has had an extremely successful career. His 18 year career has been full of accolades, with 10 La Liga titles, 7 Copa del Rey titles, and 4 UEFA Champions League with his previous club team Barcelona. In 2021, Messi made the transition to world renowned club Paris Saint-Germain and joined other soccer legends Brazilian Neymar and French Mbappe. This year, Messi has added another trophy to his collection with Argentina’s World Cup win.
After making it to the final, Argentina still had a tough game ahead of them. France, the winner of the 2018 World Cup, is a strong team full of talent. In order to win, Argentina had to put in the work. Starting off strong, Messi scored the first goal of the game, securing a 1-0 lead and sparking confidence among the team. With a second goal from Angel di Maria, a win for Argentina looked promising as they headed into half time. However, Kylian Mbappe, the French superstar, scored a penalty with only ten minutes left in regular time. Shockingly, Mbappe was able to score again in regular time, tying up the game 2-2. Fans in the stands were on the edge of their seats as the historical game entered extra time. As Messi scored for a second time in extra time, it looked like Argentina won, until Mbappe scored another penalty kick tying the score once more. With a third goal, Mbappe became the second player in World Cup history to score a hat trick in the final. The game was not just important anymore, it was historic. As the game entered regulation, both teams had the chance to go home with the infamous trophy. Emiliano Martinez, the goalkeeper for Argentina, made an incredible save and Aurelian Tchouaméni missed a penalty kick. This cost France the game as Argentinian Montiel scored the final goal that won Argentina the game.
With a final score of 4-2, Argentina won the World Cup for the third time. Fans across the world celebrated the momentous win as they watched their favorite players finally get the satisfaction of winning a World Cup. After 18 years, Lionel Messi has finally achieved any soccer player’s biggest dream, he has won the World Cup.
