With an Arab cloak and an arm raised to the top, holding the World Cup, the player, Lionel Messi, the Argentine national team champion, concluded a long career of matches with an exciting victory over the defending champion, France, in a match that extended following the regular and extra time to penalty kicks.
Messi carried his first cup, the third for the Argentines following 1978, and the second in 1986.
The impressive organization that lasted throughout the tournament continued to the closing ceremony, in which the FIFA President Gianni Infantino, the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad, and the French President, Emmanuel Macron, who watched the game to support his team, participated in distributing the awards.
Fireworks lit up the Doha sky from Lusail Stadium, Qatar’s largest stadium, where the final match was held in the presence of tens of thousands of fans.
The players climbed to a platform in the shape of the World Cup logo to receive their prizes.
Messi won the award for the best players of the match, while the French national team striker, Kylian Mbabé, carried the award for the tournament’s top scorer, following scoring a hat-trick in the final World Cup match from a wonderful attack and two penalties.
Snapshots of Paris and Buenos Aires
And while the French capital witnessed riots, and the police had to intervene to calm the fans saddened by the loss, and sometimes confront them, the situation was different in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires.
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Clashes broke out in #Paris tonight following #France lost the #WorldCup final on penalties to #Argentina in #Qatar.#Qatar2022 #FIFAWorldCup2022 #FRAARG #ARGFRA #FIFAWorldCup #Messi???? #ArgentinaVsFrance #Mbappe pic.twitter.com/evdNjeF0Yo
Gurbaksh Singh Chahal (@gchahal) December 18, 2022
Tens of thousands of fans in the capital carried their country’s flags and pictures of the players as they watched for nearly two hours an exhausting match, in which their hopes rose and fell several times with the frequent change of result between the two teams.
Buenos Aires right now. ???????????????????????? #Argentina pic.twitter.com/v9tVbl9Rau
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 18, 2022
The celebration extended to several other Arab and foreign capitals, where Argentine fans gathered to dance in joy at the victory
festivities in #Baghdad win #argentina World Cup pic.twitter.com/IOBc2q6zLI
— Ammar Alhadithy | Ammar Al-Hadithy (@Ammar_alhadithy) December 18, 2022
#urgent ????
Fans’ delight #Boulevard _ World following win #argentina on me #France. #Newspaper #Argentina _ France
#WorldCupFinal #WorldCupFinals #FIFAWorldCup #World_Cup_Qatar 2022 #Riyadh_Season @Turki_alalshikhImage: @bandar__W pic.twitter.com/MS9eVJ7yo6
– News (@ News_ksa11) December 18, 2022
Crazy match
The Argentines opened the scoring with a goal from a penalty kick executed by Lionel Messi in the 23rd minute, which gave him – temporarily – the title of top scorer in the tournament, followed by a wonderful goal by Angel Di Maria in the 36th minute, so that the Argentines finished the first half with a great advantage.
But the second half changed everything, following a penalty kick scored by Kylian Mbabé in the 80th minute, and a goal from a surprise attack by the same player a minute following the first goal, so the French tied the score until the 108th minute, in the second extra half when the Argentine attackers managed to carry out a surgical attack. A minute Messi finished inside the net of the French.
Then Mbappe scored from a penalty kick in the 118th minute, and the French almost won with a deadly attack, which was hit by French substitute Kolo Mwani, and the match ended in a penalty shootout.
Brilliant Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez saved a French penalty kick, while the French missed another kick.
Mantle of the superstar Messi
In a gesture of honoring the world star, the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad, presented a luxuriously made cloak (bisht) to the Argentine player, Lionel Messi, to wear before carrying the cup, and Messi actually wore the Arab cloak, before he lifted the cup and went to celebrate it with his team, to show the cloak Al-Arabiya in historical pictures of Messi winning the World Cup for the first time, in a symbol of an impressive organization that Qatar was able to show and maintain throughout the tournament, which did not witness riots or violations.
Immediately, Arab followers and some foreigners called the Argentine star “Sheikh”.
Sheikh Messi crowned best in the world @FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/5vZogkTiz5
— Leah Harding (@LeahHardingAJE) December 18, 2022
Sheikh #Messi
This is brilliant. Traditional thobe being worn during the biggest moment in sports history. #Qatar I love you. What a moment. Let the world celebrate the culture. #Qatar2022 #QatarWorldCup pic.twitter.com/pl0PoAcRq6
— Tam Khan (@Tam_Khan) December 18, 2022
exciting shots
Argentine star Messi appeared embracing his mother, then his wife and children following winning his first cup, in his participation, which may be his last in the World Cup.
Throughout his career, Lionel Messi achieved all major football titles, but the World Cup has eluded the Argentines since their last victory in 1986, led by Diego Maradona, the Argentine legend who passed away last year.
Pictures of Diego appeared in the stands, along with pictures of Lionel Messi and the Argentine flag.
On the other hand, Killian Mbappe, the player who kept Buenos Aires on the tips of her fingers throughout the match, seemed sad following the end of the match following making a super effort and scoring 3 goals in the World Cup match, an achievement that was achieved only by Sir Keough Hurst, the England player in the match. England beat West Germany 4 goals to 2 in 1966.
And the French President appeared sullen following the end of the match, following he was filmed celebrating during France’s three goals, and he embraced the players of his country’s team in a gesture of condolence.
Argentina and France have met three times before in the World Cup tournaments. Argentina won two matches in the group qualifiers in 1930 and 1978, but France prevailed in their only confrontation in the knockout round, and won 4-3 in the round of sixteen in 2018.