The countdown to the 2026 World Cup is on! Each day ahead of the tournament’s return to North America, Yahoo Sports will highlight an insight or moment that showcases just how grand the world’s biggest sporting spectacle has become — even beyond the expanded field of this year’s global event.
There have been 22 World Cup finals since the tournament began in Uruguay in 1930. Eight needed extra time to determine a winner. Three required penalty kicks to decide a champion.
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Argentina-France needed 30 extra minutes of soccer and a best-of-5 penalty kick shootout at Lusail Stadium on Dec. 18, 2022. The match ended up being one of the most memorable soccer matches ever and the most watched, with 1.5 billion people worldwide tuning in to see Lionel Messi claim his first-ever World Cup title.
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Messi delivered a moment early in the match when he successfully put home a 22nd-minute penalty kick following an Ousmane Dembélé foul on Ángel Di María.
Argentina had struck first, something that historically bode well for teams in World Cup finals. It would get better 14 minutes later when Di María finished off a pass from Alexis Mac Allister to double La Selección‘s lead.
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Didier Deschamps felt change was needed to his lineup. Enter Marcus Thuram and Randal Kolo Muani for Dembélé and Olivier Giroud in the 41st minute.
Argentina controlled the scoreboard and the match as the second half wore on. It wasn’t until the 80th minute when France finally had a breakthrough when it recorded its first shot on target after Nicolás Otamendi took down Kolo Muani in the box. Kylian Mbappé scored the penalty and 97 seconds later equalized with a stunning volley as the 88,000 fans inside Lusail Stadium attempted to comprehend what they had just witnessed.
There was no breaking the 2-2 deadlock in the first half of extra time. The final 15 minutes provided even more fireworks, with Messi scoring his second of the match in the 108th minute to regain the lead for Argentina. The advantage would last 10 minutes as Mbappé completed his hat trick with a 118th-minute penalty after a handball by Gonzalo Montiel.
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Penalty kicks seemed likely as both teams pushed to create final chances. France would get the best look with 20 seconds to play as Kolo Muani came on to a loose ball just inside the Argentina box, but his shot was stunningly denied by Emiliano Martínez.
An epic 120 minutes of soccer would lead to the third time in World Cup history that a final would be decided by penalty kicks. Argentina would make all four of its attempts, while Kingsley Coman‘s shot was saved and Aurélien Tchouaméni put his wide of the net.
Montiel, whose handball led to Mbappé’s 118th-minute tying goal, would clinch the victory for Argentina.
The World Cup title was Argentina’s third and first since Mexico 1986. They also became the second team to win the tournament after dropping their opening match joining Spain in 2010.
In what will likely be his final World Cup, will Messi and Argentina do it again in 2026 and somehow top the dramatics that came with the 2022 final?
