FIFA World Cup 2022: Final Man of the Match winners (Final Match Heroes)

Argentine captain, the legendary footballer, Lionel Messi won the Man of the Match award in the FIFA World Cup 2022 final. His heroic performance inspired the nation to seal their third FIFA World Cup title after beating the defending champions France in a thrilling contest as the match moved to the tie-breaker round for the decider.

December 18, 2022 – it was an unforgettable day for football fans as we experienced one of the greatest football matches in the Final match of the FIFA World Cup 2022. Argentina and France, two strong teams in this tournament, met in the final of the tournament. Both teams were eyeing lifting their third WC trophy, while the defending champions France were desperate to clinch the trophy for the second successive edition.

FIFA World Cup 2022 Final: Lionel Messi scored twice; Kylian Mbappe recorded a hat-trick

In the first half of the WC 2022 final, Argentina dominated as they got the 2-0 lead. After Lionel Messi scored from a penalty in the 23rd minute, Angel Di Maria doubled the lead in the 36th minute.

In the 80th minute, France finally broke the deadlock after Kylian Mbappe successfully converted from a penalty. In less than 100 seconds, Mbappe scored his second goal of the game to create new drama as the score was level by 2-2. The scoreline remained unchanged at the end of the 90-minute game.

After no goal addition in the first half of the extra time, Messi once again put Argentina ahead in the scoreline (3-2) in the 109th minute. Just two minutes before the completion of the 120th minute, Mbappe completed his hat-trick after another successful penalty as the scoreline once again moved to level 3-3.

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FIFA World Cup 2022 Final: Both Messi and Mbappe scored in the penalty shootout

The match was ultimately forced to move to the penalty shootout. Mbappe and Messi successfully started the penalty shootout from their respective sides. But then Kingsley Coman and Aurelien Tchouameni were unsuccessful in the tie-breaker for France, where Paulo Dybala and Leandro Paredes continued the South American side’s momentum. Though Kolo Muani decreased the French trailing to 3-2 in that penalty shootout, Gonzalo Montiel’s successful netting ended the game to start the Argentine's wild celebration for securing their third World Cup title.

Undoubtedly, the Argentine skipper Lionel Messi won the Player of the Match award in the FIFA World Cup final. After Brazilian legend Ronaldo in WC 2002, Messi became the second South American footballer to win the Man of the Match award in the WC final.

Man of the Match award winners in the Final of the FIFA World Cup

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