FIFA World Cup Final: Messi's dream comes true as Argentina overcome spirited France to lift World Cup title

The script for the FIFA World Cup final couldn't have been any better. Lionel Messi got his fairytale ending as his dream of winning the World Cup came true, with Argentina beating France 4-2 on penalties.

It was none other than the Atomic Flea who broke the deadlock with a 23rd-minute penalty to put Argentina ahead.

Argentina then went on to get their second of the night courtesy of a brilliant team goal finished off by Angel Di Maria in the 36th minute.

A resilient Argentinian defence managed to hold off France for the majority of the second half. However, it all changed in a matter of 97 seconds.

France's golden boy Kylian Mbappe scored a quickfire brace to level the match. His successful penalty followed by a fantastic equaliser forced the match into extra time. After a quite first half of extra time, the second half saw the ball somehow find the feet of Lionel Messi again, who converted from close range to give Argentina the potential winner in the 108th minute.

But Mbappe wasn't done yet as the 24-year-old got the opportunity to square things again in the dying moments of extra time with yet another spot-kick, one that he successfully converted to complete his hat-trick, the first-ever hat-trick in a World Cup final.

With the game finishing 3-3 after extra time, it was all down to the penalty shootout. In what was possibly the biggest lottery in football, it was Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez who once rose to the challenge to give the Sky blue & whites their third World Cup crown.
For Messi, it was a night he will never forget. He's walking away from the international game with the biggest prize of them all - the World Cup.