LUSAIL, QATAR—The 2022 World Cup Championship lived up to the hype, as Argentina and Lionel Messi defeated France and Kylian Mbappe 4-2. The game was decided on penalty kicks on Sunday, December 18 at Lusail Stadium after the game ended in a 3-3 draw.

Messi and Mbappe are the two greatest soccer players of this generation, and both delivered magical performances. Messi has reached the pantheon of soccer, scoring twice as he finally won his elusive World Cup.

Mbappe scored a hat trick, including two goals in the final minutes to send the game into extra time. Messi appeared to win the game again three minutes into the second extra-time period, knocking in the rebound of a shot by Lautaro Martínez. Mbappe matched his heroics with a penalty shot eight minutes later.

Argentina made all four of its penalty kicks, the last by Gonzalo Montiel sneaking in at the left post as French keeper Hugo Lloris dove the other way. Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez made one save and France’s Aurelien Tchouameni pushed his try wide of the left post.

Four of the last five World Cups have gone to extra time with two decided on penalty kicks.

France, bidding to become the first repeat winner in the men’s World Cup since Brazil in 1962, would not go away. Mbappe refused to surrender. His hat trick gave him a tournament-high eight goals in Qatar and combined with his goal in the 2018 final, gave him four goals in World Cup finals, the most ever.

Amazingly, Mbappe and Messi are teammates for Paris Saint-Germain.

A seven-time world player of the year, Messi has won everything there is to win in international soccer, but has played much of his career in the shadow of Diego Maradona. Messi will bring back the World Cup to Buenos Aries for the first time since 1986.

Soccer fans and commentators are saying the 2022 World Cup was the greatest final of all time.