At 83 minutes France has done the unthinkable. This is simply astonishing! Three minutes ago, France looked down and out! But suddenly they found something from somewhere – assisted by Otamendi’s hesitance – and this is 1986 all over again. Can Argentina recover like they did back then?Argentina has a 2-0 lead against France at half-time in the World Cup final after goals by Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria on Sunday in Doha, Qatar.
Messi scored on a 23rd-minute penalty kick after a foul on Di Maria. Thirteen minutes later Di Maria, who came back from an injury, finished off a flowing team move involving a deft flick from Messi.
It was Messi’s 12th World Cup goal. The star is making a record 26th appearance at the World Cup, breaking a tie with Germany great Lothar Matthäus.
Messi’s games have been spread over five World Cups, starting in 2006. He has 11 goals in total, tied for sixth in the all-time list. Messi has said this is likely to be his last World Cup.
World Cup lineups
Argentina: Emiliano Martinez; Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Nicolas Otamendi, Nicolas Tagliafico; Angel Di Maria, Rodrigo De Paul, Enzo Fernandez, Alexis Mac Allister; Julian Alvarez, Lionel Messi.
France: Hugo Lloris; Jules Kounde, Raphael Varane, Dayot Upamecano, Theo Hernandez; Aurelien Tchouameni, Antoine Griezmann, Adrien Rabiot; Ousmane Dembele, Kylian Mbappe, Olivier Giroud.
