French striker Olivier Giroud is a “furious” substitution in the World Cup final.

France coach Didier Deschamps’ decision to replace Olivier Giroud in the first half of the World Cup final was criticized. Argentina quickly pushed the defending champions back, who took a 2-0 lead after a flawless first-half performance. Lionel Messi opened the scoring after Ángel Di María was brought down by Frenchman Ousmane Dembele in the penalty area.

Messi converted the penalty to give Argentina the lead and surpass Kylian Mbappé as the tournament’s top scorer. Argentina converted the lead when Di María scored a superb goal on the counter-attack as his teammates made their way down the right flank. But it was a different story for France, who struggled in attack, becoming the first team not to attempt a shot in the first half of the World Cup.

Forward Kylian Mbappé only made 11 touches in the first 45 minutes.

Aware that the game must not run away, Deschamps boldly decided to replace the mercurial Giroud in the 40th minute. Giroud was unimpressed by this decision, walking off the pitch and throwing a water bottle in anger. The striker and Dembélé were replaced by Kolo Muani and Markus Thuram in a pair of rare first-half substitutions.

Giroud is France’s all-time leading goalscorer and has scored four World Cup goals, including a decisive header against England in the quarter-finals.

The 36-year-old was in the best form of his career in Qatar, so the decision to take him out with more than half of the World Cup final left him baffled.

Rob Dorsett of Sky Sports News at Lusail Stadium said: “The crowd is still gossiping about the quality of Di Maria’s goal.

“Even the Argentine fans have calmed down, you can feel that they are a bit overwhelmed by such an advantage.

“Double France substitution too, very, very soon. Deschamps has seen enough.

“It’s amazing that Dembélé and Giroud are replaced before the break when France desperately needs goals!

“Fat with rage. He threw the lid and the water bottle in anger.”

‘No, don’t’: Argentinian goalkeeper stunned with X-rated trophy gesture

Qatar may not be very happy with Emiliano Martínez.

After receiving the tournament’s Gold Glove award, Martínez celebrated by holding a hand-shaped trophy to his crotch and inflating. In a Fox report, one of the announcers could be heard saying “Oh no” after this gesture. On the BBC, one person said: “No, don’t do it, Amy. Don’t do this.”

‘Worst game I’ve ever seen’: France duo substituted after 41 minutes when star made ‘pathetic’ mistakes
France manager Didier Deschamps made a brutal call to catch Ousmane Dembele and Olivier Giroud in the 41st minute of a nightmarish first half.

The reigning world champions looked like shells of themselves in the first 45 minutes, while Argentina looked hungrier and more energetic throughout the park. Watch the best soccer players in the world every week with beIN SPORTS on Kayo. Live broadcasts of the Bundesliga, Ligue 1, Serie A, League Cup, EFL and SPFL. New to Key? Start your free trial now >

Giroud, who broke Thierry Henry’s record as France’s all-time top scorer in the round of 16, did his best to put pressure on the Argentines but received little help from his teammates.

However, Dembele had much more problems than his partner.

The Barcelona winger started from the right flank, as he did throughout the tournament.

But when Argentine manager Lionel Scaloni assigned Ángel Di Maria to the left flank instead of his usual place on the right flank, it meant that Dembele faced a new challenge in Qatar. No, not me’: Messi throws a bomb on the future of the game after the ecstasy of the World Cup. Lionel Messi quickly dispelled any doubts about his future as an international after Argentina’s triumph at the World Cup. The greatest player the world has ever seen will hang up his national jersey after he wins.

“No, I’m not going to leave the national team,” Messi said after the game. “I want to keep playing as world champion in the Argentine jersey.”

We can only look forward to moments like Monday because the world of football has never seen anything like it.

Watch the world’s best soccer players every week with beIN SPORTS on Kayo. Live coverage of the Bundesliga, Ligue 1, Serie A, League Cup, EFL and SPFL. New to Cayo? Start your free trial now >

Argentina won their first World Cup since 1986 in one of the most exciting and exciting matches ever seen in the sport.

Lionel Messi ended his tale at the Lusail Stadium and for the first time was at the top of the world, depriving France of the chance to defend their 2018 crown.

It was complete madness as the game approached the death throes of the penalty shootout.

In a truly crazy World Cup final, both teams came close to finding a winner in extra time after 120 minutes, but the game went into a 3-3 penalty shoot-out.

In the final minutes, the ball went from end to end, and Argentina needed a brilliant save from goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez to keep Colo Muani from scoring the winning goal in the closing seconds.

Messi seemed to have a magical moment when he scored in extra time, but he was wiped out when Kylian Mbappe scored his third goal in the 118th minute. It was the Frenchman’s eighth goal of the tournament and secured him the golden boot, one goal ahead of Messi. Having missed the golden boot, Messi was called on stage moments later when he was awarded the Golden Ball as a player of the tournament. He is the only player to win the Ballon d’Or twice. The win ends the 35-year-old’s illustrious career and joins Diego Maradona as a godlike figure in the South American nation.

The match kicked off early with France scoring two goals 97 seconds late.

Argentina looked like a Lionel Messi fairy tale before Kylian Mbappe came out of nowhere to equalize 2-2 in the 81st minute.

It was just a stunning turnaround after Argentina crushed the opposition with two goals in the first half.

France looked set to fall apart when head coach Didier Deschamps made two surprise substitutions before half-time, pulling Olivier Giroud and Ousmane Demebel off the pitch. Argentina continued to dominate for most of the second half, but that all changed when Argentina suddenly fell asleep without seeing the finish line. The madness was best shown in the fact that France registered only two shots on goal in the first 82 minutes and both of them scored.

Sky Sports’ Adam Beit said: “This final has become one of the best World Cup finals ever.”

It got even more epic when Messi scored in the 108th minute.

Mbappé then followed this up by becoming only the second player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final, becoming the first player since England’s Geoff Hurst in 1966 to do so.

“You can believe it,” said Martin Tyler on SBS.

“There is mistrust in the stadium.”

English legend Gary Lineker tweeted: “Have you ever seen a football match like this, let alone a World Cup final?

“This ending is amazing.”

The drama came to a head in a penalty shootout when France missed two of the team’s first three penalties.

Mbappé and Messi scored the first penalties and the score was 1-1 in the penalty shootout.

However, France came under pressure from there and it all ended when Gonzalo Montiel scored the decisive penalty to give Argentina their third World Cup and prevent France from becoming the first team in 60 years to retain the trophy.

Both teams were in tears the whole time and Messi was also seen overcome with emotion as he walked alone into part of the stadium to thank someone in the crowd.

Commentators were completely stunned by the spectacle.

Stunned, Tyler said, “What a fairy tale, what an ending.

“This is the most brutal way to lose. But this has to be done somehow. And drama for sure. And scenes of joy on one side versus scenes of despair on the other. Well, Messi greeted the whole world. This is the holy grail. The genius received a medal, which he pursued during five tournaments.

“It will always be Messi’s World Cup”.

Former England midfielder Jermaine Jenas told BBC Radio: “I can’t fathom the fact that I just watched the game. One of the greatest moments in football history.”

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinad also said: “We will never see anything like this again. I can’t imagine this happening. Where you see two great teams face to face, no one steps back. The two superstars of both teams fight again, goal by goal. Fabulous.”

4:30 am: Extra time for the ages

Lionel Messi gave Argentina the lead with a 108-minute rebound volley.

With a goal that would surely cement his place in history as a soccer god, Messi seized the moment after Hugo Lloris blocked a shot that bounced off Messi.

His shot was blocked by a French defender, but it was clear the shot had crossed the line before being saved.

Then he turned again.

France equalized when a penalty was awarded for a hand ball in the box.

Mbappé then executed the penalty.

4:15am: France tie in absolute madness

The World Cup final came to an abrupt 2-2 draw after Kylian Mbappé scored twice in two minutes.

His first shot came from a penalty kick after Nicolás Otamendi was finished off by Colo Muani. He fell after Otamendi grabbed part of his shirt.

A minute later, Mbappé hit a brilliant volley that silenced the Argentine fans at the Lusail Stadium.

It was Lionel Messi who coughed up the ball before he hit Mbappé.

Mbappé’s seventh goal of the tournament put him ahead of Messi in the race for the Golden Boot.

No one could have foreseen this.

Socceroos footballing great Craig Foster said at the end of the 90 minutes on SBS: “This is just an extraordinary final. I don’t know where France came from.

“We couldn’t see them coming back.”

English legend Gary Lineker tweeted: “Mbappé. Wow”.

2:25 am: Controversy when Messi scores the first penalty goal

Lionel Messi put Argentina ahead by scoring the first goal in the World Cup final.

He scored a penalty in which he was able to get Hugo Lloris to start on the wrong side.

His standing shot came after Ángel Di Maria danced into the box from the flank before Ousmane Dembele nudged him in an awkward challenge.

Di Maria collapsed like a sack of potatoes.

After the goal in the 23rd minute, the crowd at Lusail Stadium erupted in applause.

Messi became the first player to score in a group stage, round of 16, quarter-final, semi-final and final of a single World Cup.

His sixth goal of the tournament put him ahead of Kylian Mbappe in the race for the golden boot.

There was a debate over the penalty with accusations that Di María had taken a dive.

Piers Morgan tweeted: “It was not a penalty.”

Fox Sports commentator Brenton Sped also tweeted: “I can’t believe a penalty was awarded in the World Cup final! Unusual”.

However, Sky Sports’ Joe Schroed said: “It was stupid of Dembele to touch Di Maria after he let him dribble in the box, but the Argentine winger couldn’t wait to touch the ground and the referee couldn’t wait. to deserve

“It was very, very smooth.”

2:15 am: Keeper in trouble

French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris fell to the ground after being punched in the stomach early in the first half.

He seemed to have pushed Christian Romero off the panero as he stepped forward to snatch the tall ball from him.

The two are teammates at Tottenham.

Medical workers took to the field to treat Lloris, but he was eventually able to get back on his feet.

“Today they are not friends,” former England midfielder Jermaine Jenas told the BBC.

“Lloris got a right elbow in the ribs. Romero is wasting no time.”

00:00: The disease hits the French team

The French team insists that the disease will not be a problem for them, despite the virus circulating in the team.

Adrien Rabiot and Dayot Upamecano missed out on the semi-finals against Morocco due to illness, while centre-backs Rafael Varane and Ibrahima Konate missed Friday’s training session along with striker Kingsley Coman.

But France’s entire 24-man squad attended training ahead of the World Cup final, and manager Didier Deschamps said the team was taking steps to stem the spread of the disease, which has affected multiple players.

“Obviously it would be better if this didn’t happen, but we are dealing with this the best we can with the help of our medical staff,” Deschamps said.

Deschamps and his captain Hugo Lloris insisted that they could not provide any health upgrades prior to team training. Covid tests are no longer mandatory for FIFA.