The world witnessed the greatest FIFA World Cup final of all time as Argentina and France threw everything at each other in a bid to lift the famous gold trophy. The match ended 2-2 after 90 minutes and a further two goals were scored in extra time. Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick and after 120 minutes it finished 3-3 and penalties were needed to decide a winner and it was Messi and Argentina who were celebrating their first triumph on the global stage since 1986. Gulf News football experts try to sum up the most incredible game of football there has ever been.
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00:00Hello and welcome to Golf News kicking back. The guys are here. We're still trying to catch
00:13our breath. We have seen the most amazing World Cup final probably of all time.
00:19Lionel Messi has finally achieved his dream of winning the World Cup with Argentina.
00:24It's Argentina's third crown. The last came all the way back in 1986 when Diego Maradona
00:30was leading the team. Today they played against France in an absolutely incredible game. It
00:34finished 3-3 after extra time. It had to be decided on a penalty shootout and Sham, in the end,
00:40Messi has emerged victorious. Can you sum up that game? I can't. I seriously can't sum up this match
00:47simply because there's been so much of it. I've done fraud so much but I'll try. And actually
00:54when it started I thought I am seeing a different Argentina. The kind of display they put forward
01:01in the early game. For 80 minutes Argentina played the game. They bossed the ground.
01:06They lorded over the field. They dominated the exchanges, dominated the passes. They were
01:13on the French goal mode. This is an Argentina I haven't seen throughout the tournament.
01:19This is totally out of character with what we've seen so far.
01:23So this actually showed me that they were very keen to win. They just want to win. They wanted
01:30to win it for Messi. So that intent was seen up till then. Then Mbappe decided to end the picture.
01:37Till then he had just about around seven passes. I mean seven touches on the ball by then.
01:42Then that is when the penalty… That penalty seemed to have given him a second wind really.
01:49Because from then in 97 seconds the second goal materialized. I had barely jotted down
01:56and I looked up and I saw the goal. Go in. And what a goal that was, man. A full volley.
02:02I mean normally you would have expected him to… I mean there was enough time for him to control
02:06and take a shot. But he chose to take it the first time even before the ball landed or the
02:11cross landed onto him. So that was Mbappe at his finest. We've been hearing about such a prodigy
02:16he is and how he's matured into a good footballer. And he's told that he is clearly sure that he is
02:23the real successor to Messi. And that goal is enough proof of that. Yes. I thought okay. That
02:31was it. And even the extra time wasn't short of drama. Every minute was packed with drama.
02:38Argentina goes into a leap. France comes back and equalizes. Right till the 128th minute,
02:45the ball was switching back and forth. And anybody could have scored. Messi was denied.
02:50So was Kolomov. One year still denied. Both in the closing seconds of the match. And I swear,
02:56I have not seen a football match that's not a final. I mean, I've been watching finals since
03:04say 1982. And I have not seen a final like this. And I don't think I have seen a football match
03:10like this. 128 minutes of action-packed stuff. I think that is worthy of a final. Not just that.
03:16And I think it actually sums up the Qatar World Cup. This World Cup has been full of surprises.
03:22I have not seen so many upsets in the group stages. That upset continued with Morocco
03:29into the knockout phase. And in the finals too. We had such a pulsating match. I think we are
03:36very fortunate to watch a match like this. Absolutely, Shah. Absolutely spot on. The
03:41tournament as a whole has been absolutely superb. From the very first game, from the very first
03:46shock that we saw when Saudi beat Argentina and all the other games, we saw the tremendous story
03:52from Morocco getting all the way to the semi-finals. But in the end, Satish, in the end,
03:56it came true. Everybody was saying it should be Messi in his last World Cup appearance for
04:02Argentina. And he's gone and done it. But as Shah rightly pointed out just there, Mbappe,
04:08I mean, what an incredible story that is. He scored a hat-trick in the World Cup final,
04:13yet he has ended up on the losing team. I mean, there are so many stories. We're obviously not
04:18going to get a chance to speak about every single one of them. But this has been the most incredible
04:24game of football, regardless of it being a World Cup final, just as a game of football. It's been
04:28absolutely superb. But Satish, just sum up for Argentina and Messi, how do you think they're
04:35going to be feeling tonight after finally lifting up the trophy after so many years?
04:42Just to, if I have to sum up, basically I have to sum up from my emotions. First and foremost,
04:47what an incredible tournament Argentina had, losing your first match. And literally,
04:52they were written off at that point of time after losing against Saudi Arabia in the opener. And
04:57then from there on to go on, just barely making it to the round of 16. And from there, getting
05:05strength to strength. And finally here, they scored and they were two up. And suddenly,
05:12both goals were gone. And Messi must be thinking, it was in my hands and it was
05:17gone out of my hands. So then again, they go ahead and then it was equalized. Incredible game. Yes,
05:24on one end, I feel really happy for Messi because one of the best we have seen in the world of
05:35football. And for him to go on to win the only trophy that was missing in his cabinet in his
05:42last game before the retirement, amazing, amazing effort. But again, as I said, I also feel sad for
05:50Mbappe because I think he was let down by the other Frenchmen because he was single-handedly
05:58fighting. And I feel sad for him, Emran. Shah, a lot had been made about this illness that had
06:07been sweeping the France camp. And for the first 70 minutes of this game, it really looked like
06:12that the entire team had been struggling because France didn't even get inside the Argentina box
06:17up until the 70th minute. And all of a sudden they received their awarded penalty. It was a
06:22penalty as well. Mbappe dispatched it. And like you said, 97 seconds later, it was a tremendous
06:27volley to bring it back to 2-2. And then in extra time, we saw the two number 10s again, Messi
06:34getting a goal with his right foot. That's one for the collector's item. And then another penalty.
06:40And again, it definitely was a penalty. And Mbappe put it away. I mean, honestly, I think we're still
06:45trying to catch our breath after what we've seen here. It's been the most thrilling end for what's
06:51been a superb tournament. But Shah, how do France pick themselves up after this? Because I mean,
06:56after what they've given in this game, they're going to be feeling so emotionally, mentally,
07:01physically drained for God knows how long.
07:06I think for 18 minutes, they were sleepwalking through the match, really. And like you said,
07:15looks like the entire team was bitten by the flu bug, really. But I think that the penalty,
07:20which was brought by Colomovani, actually, he was stripped of the penalty box. That penalty
07:28strike by Mbappe seemed to have cured them of the bug. Because after that, they were completely
07:33transformed side. They all seem to have got an injection. And they're just like Superman,
07:37they were springing. And they started dominating every single exchange after that. And in fact,
07:45the roles were reversed. It was Argentina who was backpedaling. And France was on the ascendancy.
07:50So France was really rocking. They were just clicking, clicking away. And you knew that they
07:55were coming back. And I mean, true enough, you just before you could lift your head,
08:00there was a sudden Mbappe volley into the net. And seriously, I can't even try and recollect.
08:10So there's so much of events happening there. And what was your question again?
08:17I don't even remember it, Sharp.
08:22So much has happened in this game. It's just absolutely incredible.
08:25How did France pick themselves up? I think Deschamps could be stepping down. There's rumours
08:29of Zinedine Zidane possibly taking over the reins for the French national team. Do you think
08:35Deschamps should stay? Do you think Zidane? Should they make any change at all?
08:40No, I don't think so. But I mean, you could see in the body language that they were completely
08:44down because they were shattered, really. You could see in Mbappe's body language when he
08:48came to pick up the golden boot. He was not there, really. Mentally, he was not there.
08:53So yeah, they were really, really shattered. So, going from here, where do France go from here?
09:00I don't think Deschamps should step down. Actually, he actually bought in almost a
09:05second-string side in this World Cup. They had an entirely revamped midfield where people like
09:12Tomani are just earning their stripes there. So, with that kind of team, he didn't have the
09:20spearhead. Somebody like Benzema was not there. So, he actually bought a completely reworked team
09:27into the World Cup. And I don't think anybody gave them much of a chance, really, until the
09:32group game started showing their quality. So, for them to reach the final, Deschamps
09:39would have done some magic. I think he is… And they needed to reach the final. So, I don't think
09:44they need to ditch Deschamps so soon. I mean, at least he can go on till the
09:52Euro Championships in two years down the line. But I know Zinedine Zidane is painting the wings.
09:59But I don't know. It's entirely up to the French people to do that. But I think it would be
10:03sheer injustice if Deschamps was asked to step down or if he walks away.
10:08Or he is on a court, you can understand. Because this is a high-pressure game. And it's not easy.
10:14I mean, coaching is a high-profile side like France. So, if he wants to step down,
10:19fine. But otherwise, I think France should give him at least another two years.
10:23Yeah, I think you are spot on. I think they should give him another two years. I mean,
10:25if England are going to keep Southgate, which has been confirmed today, I think Deschamps
10:29well deserves to stay there as well. I mean, today he made two of the most biggest decisions
10:33probably he has ever made in his career as a coach. With 10 minutes to go before half-time,
10:38France were losing 2-0. He dragged off Giroud and he brought on Mouhani. I mean, to change the game,
10:45he had to do it. But it's a brave move. Most coaches would probably wait until the second
10:49half. But he made that brave move. And it changed the whole game. It took a while for France for
10:55that effect to take shape. But it definitely changed the game. And great managers make these
11:01kind of substitutions when it matters the most. So, yes, I can see him staying with France.
11:07But Satish, look, do you think... Everyone's talking about this being the end of Messi. He's
11:11only 35. Now the Copa America is two years from now. He's most likely going to be playing in that.
11:17He's most likely going to be extending his contract with PSG. So he'll be 37 when that
11:22comes around. Ronaldo is currently 37 and still playing in the World Cup. Do you think at 39,
11:28when the next World Cup comes around in the USA, Canada and Mexico, that the Argentinian
11:34Federation and the coach Scaloni can convince him to come back and play one more tournament?
11:39Because if he's playing this good, if he's still having such a big say in games and still hasn't
11:44lost any of those old skills and that wily old ability of his to pick out a pass and play his
11:49players in, surely he'd still be a main man for Argentina. Absolutely, Imran. But I don't think...
11:58Yes, he came back once. I think he retired a couple of years ago. And I think he came back
12:03after that. So nothing is certain in sports. You can anytime change it. But if he had not won it,
12:09maybe I think he would probably come back in four years' time and give it a try. But after winning
12:15the World Cup, which he wanted it badly, I think he would probably want it to go on a high. And
12:20that also gives Argentina the chance to build their next stream for the next World Cup, so that
12:28they are ready for the defense. So I think maybe he will play in the next two years,
12:35he might play for Argentina. But I think this will be his last World Cup. But yes,
12:40if he comes back in four years' time, we would like to watch him. Obviously, the magic is still
12:46there. And obviously, it can only get better. Because now he's giving the perfect passes and
12:54making the moves. And these are some of the things that will not go or they don't have to
12:59be that fast to run as well. So you can make those moves. But still, I think he would not be there,
13:06because obviously, he's got what he wanted. Yeah, he's got what he wanted. Absolutely right,
13:12Satish. He's got what he wanted. It could be a risk to come back four years from now. Maybe he
13:16won't be the same player anymore. But for now, Argentina are the world champions. Congratulations
13:21to them. Commiserations to France for putting up a tremendous battle. And well done to Mbappé for
13:27winning the Golden Boot. He got eight goals today. In this game, it was incredible. At one point,
13:32it was Messi with the Golden Boot. And then it was Mbappé. And then it was Messi again. Eventually,
13:36it was Mbappé. But well done to all. And especially a big thanks to Qatar for a superb World Cup.
13:42That's all from us. Thanks to Sharm and thanks to Satish. Check us out on Celtic.com for all
13:47the latest news and reviews and videos. And check us out on social media. Good night, guys.
13:52And have a well-deserved rest. Thank you very much.