World Cup 2022
The 2022 World Cup Final, Argentina vs France, was the most interesting soccer game that I’ve ever watched. Now, I’ve watched a lot of soccer – or Futbol as I like to call it. I’ve rewatched all the classics throughout the years and watched more games than I can count from all different leagues and levels of competition. In my opinion, the most beautiful thing about the World Cup is the unpredictability: who would’ve thought Argentina, one of the favorites for the Cup, would’ve lost to Saudi Arabia in their first match? Who would’ve thought Croatia would’ve beat Brazil in the quarter finals? Countries unite behind their teams and the world unites for their love for the game during the World Cup. The World Cup Final is quite literally the biggest stage on Earth. It was watched by 4 billion people this year. Imagine, half of the world’s population all watching the same event all at once. That kind of power and unity is incredible. Now obviously, there have been thousands of soccer matches played throughout history. However, this is the best one because of the high stakes for both teams and their individual players.
First, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé were in a race for the Golden Boot award–given to the player who scores the most goals in the World Cup. Going into the final, both Messi and Mbappé were tied for this position with 5 goals scored each. Messi was edging out Mbappé because he had more assists; Messi had three, compared to Mbappé’s two. Also, this was Messi’s last chance at winning the World Cup. He is considered by many to be the greatest soccer player of all time. Winning it would be the crown jewel of his illustrious career, which makes the stakes higher.
During the first half of the match, Argentina dominated the game scoring two goals. The 2-0 lead going into half had Argentina fans confident that the World Cup would come back to Argentina after a thirty-six year drought. They maintained this lead for the first 30 minutes of the second half. Argentine chances had the French on the back foot. Mbappe scored a penalty in the 80th minute to put Argentina under some pressure then fired home a volley less than a minute later forcing overtime. As a spectator, that was an exceptional moment to witness, especially because it was a volley – one of the hardest soccer techniques. The first half of extratime was quiet however Messi’s goal at the 108th minute shifted the game once again. He was in the right place at the right time, making the score 3-2 with Argentina leading. The constant back and forth in the game caused a great deal of suspense, making the game the most interesting one I’ve watched by far. The final twist in the story came in the 118th minute of the game after Argentina conceded a penalty where who else but Kylian Mbappe fired it home scoring the first hattrick in a World Cup final since the great Pelé. Additionally, this secured the Golden Boot for the Frenchman and sent the game to the dreaded penalty shootout.
Penalty shootouts are always suspenseful, but in the World Cup final, tensions were higher than ever. Both goal keepers hadn’t really been tested during the game and both needed to make a big save in order for their team to succeed, so the pressure was on. France shot first with Mbappé dispatching a penalty in the top corner. Messi shot next again, scoring his penalty, tieing the shootout at one a piece after the first round. Coman stepped up second for France but Argentine Goalkeeper Marténez came up with a huge save. Dybala scored his penalty putting Argentina ahead 2-1. Tchouaméni stepped up for France and after some mind games from Marténez he missed the goal completely while Paredes scored, putting Argentina up 3-1. For Argentina to win all they needed to do was score their next penalty. Even though Frenchman Muani scored his penalty in the fourth round, Argentine Montiel also scored, winning Argentina and Messi the World Cup.
