France vs. Argentina in the World Cup Final was as much a battle of two football powerhouses as it was a showdown of two stars in Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé. Only one won, but both delivered a signature performance.
This World Cup Final was about two countries with rich, storied football histories, but it was also about the clash of two of the sport’s greats: Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé. One is an all-timer, among the best to ever do it. The other is a young lion, but already on the fast lane to all-time great status.
It was a matchup dreams are made of. It was prime Roger Federer vs. prime Rafael Nadal. It was Ali vs. Frazier, Pacquiao vs. Mayweather. It was ‘98 Michael Jordan going against Miami Heat era-LeBron—in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
And, boy, did Messi and Mbappé deliver.
Messi was magical, scoring an early goal to give Argentina the lead and then scoring again late to help hold off a furious French comeback led by—who else?—Mbappé. The 23-year-old, looking for a second straight World Cup, singlehandedly brought the Les Blues back, firing three goals all after the 80th minute.
Mbappé’s hat trick was the first ever in a World Cup Final since England’s Geoff Hurst did it in 1966. And it bordered on the unfathomable, the unbelievable, because the French phenom scored all three goals in a span of just under 25 minutes—every single one fired with France trailing and on the verge of losing. One less and the Albiceleste win the World Cup in regulation.
Any other time, against any other opponent, Messi’s impressive brace would be enough to win the match outright. Not against the defending World Cup champions. Not against Mbappé, whose performance left little doubt as to who will take the reins as football’s next transcendent superstar, as if he isn’t already.
But Messi, at the end, did just enough. His goal at the 108th minute gave the Argentine side enough of a cushion to withstand one last push by Mbappé, who tied the match at the 118th minute and nearly delivered the game-winning assist two minutes later.
The two superstars continued their little game of one-upmanship in the penalty shootout, trading goals to start the decider, before Messi’s teammates won for Argentina what is arguably the greatest World Cup Final ever played.
That Final was as good as it gets, a championship decider for the ages in every sense. It was two powerhouse countries elevating the beautiful game to its most beautiful form. It was two transcendent superstars transcending their sport yet again, each delivering yet another signature performance on the biggest, grandest stage of all.
Yes, Argentina and France lived up to expectations.
And Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé certainly delivered.