World Cup

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World Cup | Final

Dec 18, 2022 at 3pm UK

Lusail Iconic Stadium

Argentina
3 - 3
France

Messi (23' pen., 108'), di Maria (36')
Fernandez (45+7'), Acuna (90+8'), Paredes (114'), Montiel (116'), Martinez (126')

FT
(aet)

Mbappe (80' pen., 81', 118' pen.)
Rabiot (55'), Thuram (87'), Giroud (90+5')

Argentina win 4-2 on penalties

Didier Deschamps remains tight-lipped on France future after World Cup final

By Ben Knapton, Senior Reporter | 18 December 2022

France manager Didier Deschamps refuses to discuss his future following Les Bleus' World Cup final defeat to Argentina on penalties.

France manager Didier Deschamps has refused to reveal whether he will continue in his post after Les Bleus fell short in the 2022 World Cup final against Argentina.

The 2018 champions were aiming to become only the third team to win back-to-back titles after Italy and Brazil, while Deschamps sought to become just the second manager to win multiple World Cups.

France got off to the worst possible start at the Lusail Iconic Stadium, as strikes from Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria gave Argentina an early 2-0 advantage heading into the break.

A quickfire brace from Kylian Mbappe suddenly turned the match on its head as extra time loomed, where Messi and Mbappe increased their tallies again to force a penalty shootout.

Aurelien Tchouameni and Kingsley Coman both failed to convert from 12 yards, while Argentina scored four out of four to win their third World Cup title.

Argentina's Lionel Messi celebrates with the trophy and teammates after winning the World Cup on December 18, 2022 © Reuters

Deschamps's contract with France is due to expire at the end of the calendar year, and Zinedine Zidane is being tipped to succeed the 54-year-old for the next Euros and World Cup cycle.

When asked about his future by RMC Sport, Deschamps understandably had little to say, responding: "I will meet with the [FFF] president at the start of the year as planned, we will see. Tonight I don't want to talk about that."

France captain Hugo Lloris failed to stop any of Argentina's penalties in the shootout, as Messi, Leandro Paredes, Paulo Dybala and Gonzalo Montiel all converted.

The Tottenham Hotspur man also conceded a spot kick to Messi in the first half after Ousmane Dembele clumsily brought down Di Maria, as his hopes of lifting back-to-back World Cups as captain went begging.

Lloris described the frenetic final as a "boxing match", although he lamented France's wastefulness in the opening exchanges as their 2022 World Cup ended 'painfully'.

France players on the podium with their World Cup runners-up medals on December 18, 2022 © Reuters

"It's a painful story, in any case which ends in a painful way. It's true that we miss our first period, with a lot of technical waste, we don't win the duels, they put them in difficulty," Lloris added.

"Logically they lead in the score. In the middle of the second period, we had the burst of pride and the talent of Kylian to come back to 2-2. It was like a boxing match, blow for blow."

Amid the bitter disappointment of losing on penalties, France attacker Mbappe ended the match with the Golden Boot in tow after scoring a tournament-high eight goals in Qatar.

The 23-year-old also became the first player since Geoff Hurst in 1966 to score a hat trick in a World Cup final, and he is the youngest player of all time to score in multiple World Cup finals.