[EN DIRECT] Argentina 2 – France 2

DOHA, Qatar | It’s already the end. After a month of competition, we will soon be crowning a World Cup champion. Will we have a new king or an extraordinary achievement?

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Extension

103^e minute : Two shots on target for Argentina, but the ball refuses to go in.

101^e minute : Double change on the side of Argentina. Rodrigo De Paul and Julian Alvarez come out, Lautaro Martinez and Leandro Paredes get in on the action.

95^e minute : Frenchman Adrien Rabiot is out due to a possible concussion. He is replaced by Youssouf Fofana.

Extra time will be necessary for the final between Argentina and France. A team will have a third star on their jersey. Which?

After 90 minutes of play, we go to extra time in the World Cup final since France and Argentina are tied 2-2.

Argentina were heading for a first World Cup title in 36 years when a 97-second break changed the course of the game.

The Albiceleste then led 2-0 thanks to goals from Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria and were in control of the game with just over ten minutes to play.

Then France, listless for most of the game, got a penalty kick that Kylian Mbappé converted in the 80th minute.

Mbappé returned to the charge 97 seconds later to score his second of the game and his seventh of the tournament to overtake Messi at the top of the scorers.

These two goals were the first two French shots on target of the match.

SECOND HALF-TIME

90+6 minutes : Lionel Messi (Argentina) unleashes a cannonball and Hugo Lloris (France) makes a very important save to maintain the equality.

90+7 minutes : Marcos Acuna (Argentina) trips a rival and is shown the yellow card.

90+4 minutes : From the bench, Olivier Giroud (France) receives a yellow card.

90+3 minutes : Frenchman Adrien Rabiot hits the ball from the center of the penalty area, but the precious object ends up in the arms of the opposing goalkeeper.

90^e minute : The referee adds eight more minutes

87^e minute : France’s Marcus Thuram has been shown a yellow card for overdoing it when he crashed into Argentina’s penalty area.

84^eminute : Kylian Mbappé crosses the ball in the direction of Randal Kolo Muani, but the Frenchman cannot reach the ball with his head.

80^e minute : 2 to 2! France equalize on a second success from Kylian Mbappé. The star player hit the ball on the fly.

79^e minute : 2 to 1! Kylian Mbappé scores on the penalty shot and closes the gap, giving the French a dose of hope.

77^e minute : Randal Kolo Muani is hooked in the penalty area and France gets a penalty kick.

70^e minute : France makes two changes. Antoine Griezmann and Théo Hernandez leave, while Kingsley Coman and Eduardo Camavinga enter.

63^e minute : Change on the Argentine side, while Angel Di Maria gives way to Marco Acuna.

62^e minute : Hugo Lloris stands out again. This time he slips to end a threat from Mac Allister.

58^e minute : Argentinian Julian Alvarez gets a good chance to score, but goalkeeper Hugo Lloris says no.

55^e minute : the French Adrien Rabiot is given a yellow card.

51^e minute : Corner kick for France, but goalkeeper Damien Martinez stops the action.

49^e minute : Argentina pick up where they left off in the first half and get the first shot of the second part of this final.

Halftime: After 45 minutes, Argentina lead 2-0 over France in the final of the Soccer World Cup.

DOHA, Qatar | The first half is over at the Lusail stadium and Argentina leads 2-0 over France in the World Cup final.

It was Lionel Messi who opened the scoring in the 23rd minute on a penalty shot obtained by Angel Di Maria.

The Argentinians took a 2-0 lead in the 36th minute after a counter-attack that ended in a nice exchange between Alexis Mac Allister and Angel Di Maria that moved the ropes.

The French generally looked lethargic and Didier Deschamps made a double change before the end of the first half, which is quite rare.

The South American team had the ball at their feet for 64% of the action. Argentina also had six shots, three of them on target, while the French had no shots in the first 45 minutes.

FIRST HALF

45^e minute : the official adds seven minutes to the first half.

41^e minute : the French coach makes two changes. He replaced Ousmane Dembélé with Randal Kolo Muani and Olivier Giroud with Marcus Thuram.

36^e minute : 2 to 0 Argentina! Di Maria doubles the South American country’s lead after accepting a magnificent stint from Messi. The action started on a raise and the Argentina number 10 showed genius.

23^e minute : GOAL ! Lionel Messi opens the scoring with a penalty shot! 1-0 Argentina. The star player placed the ball in the bottom right corner of Lloris’s cage. It’s the fourth time in this World Cup that Messi has scored in such circumstances.

21^e minute : Argentina gets a penalty when French midfielder Ousmane Dembélé catches Di Maria in the penalty area.

20^e minute : On a free kick, French forward Olivier Giroud redirects a cross with his head, but just misses the net.

17^e minute : Argentina are aggressive and Angel Di Maria gets a good chance in the penalty area. Number 11, however, completely missed his shot.

14^e minute : the French get their first attacking chance, but the Argentinian goalkeeper Damian Martinez was faster than his rival.

9^e minute : The first corner kick of the match was awarded to the Argentinians, who were unable to take advantage of it.

5^e minutes : the Argentines keep the ball in French territory at the start of the match. Julian Alvarez attempted a long shot, but goalkeeper Hugo Lloris closed the door.

BEFORE MATCH

French President Emmanuel Macron is in Doha, the Qatari news agency QNA reported on Sunday morning. “We do it again?”, he wrote in a message on social networks accompanied by a video of the celebrations experienced in the locker room after the half.

Coach Didier Deschamps has lined up his standard team with Olivier Giroud and Kylian Mbappé in attack and a defense made up of Raphaël Varane and Dayot Upamecano to face Argentina.

Both affected by a virus in recent days, Varane and Upamecano are well in the starting lineup of the defending champions.

Argentina start Di Maria, recently troubled by muscle problems to the point of having been a substitute for most of the knockout stage.

For this final at the Lusail stadium, the French starters are the same as against England in the quarter-finals, with Ousmane Dembélé on the right and Antoine Griezmann in a remote playmaker role.

In the middle, Adrien Rabiot finds his place alongside Aurélien Tchouaméni, after missing the semi-final against Morocco due to a virus.

The central Varane-Upamecano hinge is framed by Theo Hernandez on the left and Jules Koundé on the right. Captain Hugo Lloris celebrates his 145th selection, the 20th in the World Cup, a record for a goalkeeper.

Lionel Scaloni’s Argentina opted for a four-defender scheme, serving “Leo” Messi, associated with Julian Alvarez in attack.

A large influx of passengers has caused huge fluidity problems in the Doha Metro. Some metro stations were closed with queues of over a hundred meters. Roads were also congested downtown and towards the stadium. The France-Argentina final takes place on Qatar’s National Day.

France are defending champions after beating Croatia 4-2 in the final in Russia four years ago.

The Argentines return to the ultimate game after tasting it in Brazil in 2014.

For them, it’s now or never since this is most likely Lionel Messi’s last match at the World Cup. At 35, this is his last chance.

The feat

The French have a feat within their reach since they could defend their title by winning a second consecutive World Cup. Only Italy, in 1934 and 1938, as well as Brazil, in 1958 and 1962, were able to achieve this tour de force.

It is above all a fourth appearance in the final in the last seven tournaments for the Blues, which is a remarkable sign of consistency over the years.

We are a long way from the early 1990s when the French were unable to qualify for the tournament in 1990 and 1994. Since then, they have come back strong by winning at home in 1998 and have built on this success.

For Argentines, it’s a different story. In addition to their presence in the final in 2014, they have gone through lean years since the heyday of Diego Maradona.

Before 2014, their last appearance in the final was in 1990, a gap of five tournaments between the two final matches in which they participated.

In any case, we will see a country add a third star to its jersey because the two nations each have two titles to their name.

The beautiful game

We should be entitled to a final that will give way to the beautiful with two teams that are solid defensively, but who are mainly focused on the offensive game.

And above all, these are two selections that have in their ranks players of great talent with the ball. There are artists on both sides who will compete in genius to mark and amaze us.

The Blues have Kylian Mbappé and the Albiceleste have Lionel Messi, two players who can transform a match with a pass or a kick, enough to keep us on the edge of our seat for two hours.

In reality, we have two teams with no real weaknesses who will have to exploit every little space left free by the opponent, which promises a high quality match on a tactical level.

party in town

Closer to home, we know that there is a large French community in Montreal.

Sports bars or even non-sports bars at all are going to be packed with fans this morning and the snow isn’t going to deter them.

Imagine if France lifts a second World Cup in a row, it will be a party, especially on the Plateau Mont-Royal.

No matter how it ends, we especially wish you to have the best match of the tournament to conclude it. It would be the best Christmas present a football fan could have.