Three years since Qatar final: Argentina celebrate third star | OneFootball

Sunday, December 18, 2022, was one of the happiest days for all Argentinians: the Argentine national football team won the most epic final in its history and secured its third star. Argentina faced France, we tied 3-3 in regular time and extra time, and clinched victory (4-2) on penalties.

Here’s a brief recap of everything that happened on that thrilling day, which featured historic moments like Emiliano Martínez’s incredible save against Randal Kolo Muani at 123 minutes into the match.

The failed debut against Saudi Arabia

The 2022 World Cup started off on the wrong foot; it seemed we were far superior to Saudi Arabia, the first opponent in Group C. It was supposed to be the easiest match. Lionel Scaloni’s team managed to open the scoring thanks to a penalty from Lionel Messi at 7 minutes into the first half.

However, some goals were disallowed for offside and several defensive lapses allowed the men in green to turn the result around 2-1 and seal the win with two isolated goals in the second half.

“I tell the people to trust,” Messi asked. How could you not trust him? No one doubted number 10. A captain who would not fail. You could see the confidence on the faces of all the players. A team of friends who always had each other’s backs. And all of Argentina trusted.

The match against Mexico

The second match was against Mexico, an old acquaintance, and Argentina came onto the field needing a win to stay alive in the World Cup and have a shot at topping the group.

With a brilliant Messi, who struck a low left-footed shot from outside the box to break the Central American defense, and a stunning goal from Enzo Fernández, both in the second half, the national team took an important 2-0 win and brought relief to the ‘Albiceleste’ fans.

On the last day of the Group Stage, the team led by the coach from Pujato won by the same score against Robert Lewandowski’s Poland with goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Julián Álvarez, securing first place in the group with 6 points.

Argentina faced the Netherlands in the World Cup quarterfinals after having overcome Australia with some difficulty in the round of 16. A 2-1 win over the Australians (Messi and Álvarez) set up a rematch against the Europeans, recalling the Albiceleste’s victory in the semifinals of Brazil 2014.

Fiery pre-match statements, tough clashes during the game, and the legendary “anda pa’llá, bobo” from the Argentine captain to Wout Weghorst after the win, among other memorable moments, defined one of the most unforgettable matches of Qatar 2022.

After taking a 2-0 lead, the Netherlands managed to equalize and the semifinalist had to be decided by penalty shootout. ‘Dibu’ saved shots from Virgil van Dijk and Steven Bergwijn, and finally Lautaro Martínez sealed the victory.

Already in the semifinals, the ‘Albiceleste’ showed a much higher level of football than Croatia and with a convincing 3-0 win—two spectacular goals from Julián Álvarez—advanced to the grand final, where they faced France to determine the next world champion.

The ‘Spider’, a striker who came up through River, carried the ball from midfield to make it 2-0, while for the decisive goal he received a pass from Messi, who left Josko Gvardiol behind in a memorable play.

There was a lot of tension in the moments before the kickoff against France, but after the first few minutes the Argentine team was better positioned on the pitch and managed to go into halftime with a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Lionel Messi (penalty) and Ángel Di María.

In the second half, Scaloni’s men seemed to have everything wrapped up and were already caressing the long-awaited trophy. However, with less than ten minutes left on the clock, Kylian Mbappé appeared twice to level the score.

The goals from the current Real Madrid player hit like a real bucket of cold water for a national team that had been vastly superior for 75 minutes. Thus, the match went into extra time.

Fatigue seemed not to show in extra time. Messi made his presence felt again with a hopeful goal three minutes into the second half of extra time, but once again the former Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco player, a champion with France in Russia 2018, scored to make it 3-3.

When it seemed everything would be decided by penalties, ‘Dibu’ Martínez became a giant in the Albiceleste goal and stopped a point-blank, one-on-one shot from Randal Kolo Muani with his foot to prevent what could have been a decisive 3-4.

With two missed penalties by the French side, Gonzalo Montiel took a breath, held it, exhaled through his legs, kept his composure in the kick, and the ball went in. The stadium erupted, Argentina erupted, the whole planet erupted when the right back scored that final shot that filled an entire country with joy.

The streets turned into a sea of sky blue and white. People hugged, cried, laughed. No one could believe what was happening. That day, three years ago, Argentina was a party.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.