World Cup 2022 news LIVE: Lionel Messi and Argentina return home after final triumph over France

Messi scored twice before Argentina beat France on penalties to end a 36-year wait for the trophy

Argentina team returns after World Cup victory

Lionel Messi and his Argentina teammates have returned to their home country after ending the nation’s 36-year wait for a World Cup trophy.

Messi scored twice against France, but Paris Saint-Germain teammate Kylian Mbappe netted a hat-trick as Sunday’s final in Qatar ended 3-3 after extra time.

What was surely the greatest final in World Cup history was then decided on penalties, as Gonzalo Montiel scored the winning spot kick before Messi lifted the trophy that had eluded him for so long.

Argentina have now returned home, while France striker Karim Benzema – who missed the tournament through injury – has hinted that his time with the national team is done.

Follow all the reaction to the final and the World Cup as a whole in our live blog, below: 

World Cup final reaction LIVE

• Argentina beat France on penalties in possibly the World Cup’s greatest ever final
• Lionel Messi scores twice, PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe nets hat-trick in 3-3 draw
• Game decided in penalty shootout as Argentina end their 36-year wait for the trophy
• Argentina team return home from Qatar to celebrate with friends and family
• Karim Benzema hints at France retirement after missing World Cup through injury

[20 December 2022 15:45 · Alex Pattle]

World Cup final reaction LIVE

“Well, we almost lost half the team and they haven’t even left Ezeiza yet,” reads this tweet concerning a close call here!

[20 December 2022 15:40 · Alex Pattle]

World Cup final reaction LIVE

Lionel Messi was reduced to tears after winning the World Cup with Argentina on Sunday, the captain scoring twice in the most dramatic of finals against France.

Arguably the biggest storyline heading into the final in Qatar was around Messi, who was bidding to lift an elusive World Cup trophy after coming up short in the 2014 final against Germany.

Messi failed to find the net in that 1-0 defeat in Brazil eight years ago, but in this – surely his final World Cup game – the 35-year-old scored twice as the match ended 3-3 after extra time.

Argentina went on to win on penalties, and Messi was overcome with emotion, embraced by teammates and reduced to tears as the team celebrated their nation’s third world title – their first since 1986.

More here:

[20 December 2022 15:20 · Miguel Delaney]

World Cup final reaction LIVE

On a night of sensory overload, it was perhaps fitting that the last few scenes were almost as bright and loud as what had come before. You heard the Argentina squad before you saw them, the thin walls of the mixed zone shuddering and falling over with their bangs and jumps.

It was more than three hours after Gonzalo Montiel had powered in his penalty and they finally came through, ostensibly to speak to media. Except, they only sang at them, Lionel Messi lifting the World Cup with everyone else looking up at it and him adoringly, while constantly chanting the same lyrics.

It was one last little conflict, a show of the combativeness that has characterised this team’s World Cup – not least in the final. A point was made.

Full article here:

[20 December 2022 15:00 · Alex Pattle]

World Cup final reaction LIVE

France president Emmanuel Macron took to the pitch to console France players on Sunday, after they lost the World Cup final to Argentina on penalties.

Arguably the greatest final in World Cup history played out at Lusail Stadium in Qatar, with France twice coming from behind – firstly to force extra time and then to bring about a penalty shootout.

It was Argentina who won it 4-2, becoming three-time world champions while costing 2018 victors France that status.

Macron, who was watching the game live at Lusail Stadium and reacting passionately throughout, made his way onto the pitch after the shootout to console French players.

Here is what happened next:

[20 December 2022 14:40 · Sports Staff]

World Cup final reaction LIVE

Emiliano Martinez added to his impressive penalty record as Argentina won a World Cup final shootout against France on Sunday night.

The Aston Villa keeper has won four successive shootouts with club and country, with his last defeat coming in 2019 when he was with Arsenal.

Argentina beat both the Netherlands and France on penalties to seal their World Cup triumph, with Martinez to the fore.

He saved from Virgil van Dijk and Steven Berghuis against the Dutch, marking the second save with a jig of delight, and also denied France’s Kingsley Coman.

Here is an in-depth look at Martinez’s penalty-saving talents:

[20 December 2022 14:20 · Alex Pattle]

World Cup final reaction LIVE

The Qatar World Cup final played out in front of thousands of empty seats on Sunday, as Argentina took on France at Lusail Stadium.

Despite a significant number of Argentina fans turning up with hopes of seeing Lionel Messi claim the one trophy that has long eluded him, the stadium was not full in time for the opening whistle.

Once the second half began, with Argentina leading defending champions France 2-0 thanks to a Messi penalty and Angel Di Maria strike, the number of empty seats had increased drastically.

Thousands of seats at the 88,966-capacity stadium were empty, and they did not fill out even as the game progressed.

Here is how social-media users reacted:

[20 December 2022 14:00 · Ben Burrows]

World Cup final reaction LIVE

Football doesn’t always do fairytales. Just ask Harry Kane or Kevin De Bruyne or Cristiano Ronaldo or any of the star players who didn’t get the ending they wanted at the World Cup. But for the greatest of all, the story played out even sweeter than surely he could ever have planned.

In what he said would be his last match on the biggest stage in the sport, Lionel Messi emphatically delivered and finally, at the fifth and final time of asking, won the one trophy he wanted more than any other.

Full article here:

[20 December 2022 13:40 · Sports Staff]

World Cup final reaction LIVE

The World Cup concluded in thrilling fashion on Sunday with Argentina’s penalty shootout win against France in the final, and there is little time to draw breath before domestic leagues in Europe and South America return to action.

Here is a look at when some of the World Cup’s star players could be performing for their clubs again:

[20 December 2022 13:20 · Sports Staff]

World Cup final reaction LIVE

Lionel Messi has said he is not ready to call time on his international career after Argentina’s victory over France in the World Cup 2022 final.

In the build-up to the competition, it was widely thought that the Qatar tournament could be the Paris Saint-Germain star’s last in an Argentina shirt.

However, Messi told Argentinian TV station TyC Sports: “I love football, it’s what I do. I enjoy being in the national team and want to continue by experiencing a few more games as a world champion.”

More here:

[20 December 2022 13:00 · Sports Staff]

World Cup final reaction LIVE

Here is a look at some of the breakout stars of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar: