Topic summary
2022 FIFA World Cup final
Argentina won 4–2 on penalties
22 °C (72 °F)
64% humidity
The final match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the 22nd edition of FIFA's competition for men's national football teams, was played at Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar, on 18 December 2022 (Qatari National Day), and was contested by Argentina and defending champions France. With a record 1.5 billion people watching on television, the final became one of the most widely watched televised sporting events in history.
The tournament was contested by hosts Qatar and 31 other teams who emerged victorious from the qualification phase, which was organised by the six FIFA confederations. The 32 teams competed in a group stage, from which 16 teams qualified for the knockout stage. En route to the final, Argentina finished first in Group C, first losing to Saudi Arabia 2–1, then defeating both Mexico and Poland 2–0. They then defeated Australia 2–1 in the round of 16, the Netherlands in the quarter-final through a penalty shoot-out after a 2–2 draw in extra time, and Croatia in the semi-final 3–0. France finished first in Group D with two wins and one loss (4–1 win over Australia, 2–1 win over Denmark, and a 1–0 loss to Tunisia). They defeated Poland 3–1 in the round of 16, England 2–1 in the quarter-final, and Morocco 2–0 in the semi-final. The final took place in front of 88,966 spectators and was refereed by Szymon Marciniak.
Argentina took a 1–0 lead after Lionel Messi scored from a penalty kick in the 23rd minute. Ángel Di María made it 2—0 in the 36th minute with a low shot into the corner of the goal after a sweeping Argentina counterattack. France failed to make a shot on goal for the vast majority of the match, until Kylian Mbappé scored two goals within 97 seconds (the first of which was from a penalty kick), making the score 2–2 in the 81st minute. During extra time, Messi scored again to give Argentina a 3–2 lead. Mbappé scored a second penalty to tie the game 3–3 with just a few minutes remaining, becoming the second male player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final after Geoff Hurst in 1966. Argentina won the ensuing penalty shoot-out 4–2 to win their third World Cup, and their first since 1986.
It was the second time that Argentina reached the World Cup final after losing their opening match, the other occasion being in 1990. It was the second time that a team won the tournament after losing their opening match, following Spain in 2010. France became the first team in history to score three goals in a World Cup final and lose. Messi was named the man of the match and won the Golden Ball as FIFA's best player of the tournament. He became the first player to win a second World Cup Golden Ball, having previously won it in 2014. The 2022 final was ranked by the football media and fans alike as one of the greatest World Cup finals, and one of the greatest matches in the history of the sport.