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ALionel Messi crowned his glittering career when he won the World Cup title at last on Sunday when Argentina beat defending champions France 4-2 on penalties after a drama-filled 3-3 deadlock over 120 minutes in the final of the Qatar tournament.
Gonzalo Muntiel converted the deciding spot kick after goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez had saved from Kingsley Coman and Aurelien Tchounameni had aimed wide for France for who a hat-trick from Kylian Mbappe was not enough for victory.
Messi from the spot and Angel di Maria had given Argentina a 2-0 first-half lead but Mbappe forced extra-time with an 80th-minute penalty and 81st-minute volley, and there cancelled out Messi's 109th-minute strike with another penalty to force the shoot-out.
But Argentina prevailed to win the World Cup for a third time, having also triumphed in 1978 and 1986, while losing finals in 1930, 1990 and 2014. They ended a European run of four titles with a first for South America since Brazil in 2002. The 1998 and 2018 winners France lost a final on penalties for the second time, as in 2006.