FIFA World Cup Final

2/22/2023

Maicie Schweiner '26

The 2022 FIFA World Cup has officially ended, and it was one to remember! In the semi-finals, Argentina beat Croatia, and France beat Morocco. The winners of these two games, Argentina and France, faced each other in the final on Sunday, December 18. This game was full of twists and turns to keep the viewers entertained. Argentina started off strong and received a PK, a penalty kick inside the box, in the 23rd minute of the game. Messi took the PK, and he made it. Argentina was up 1-0. Thirteen minutes later, Di Maria scored another goal for Argentina. This goal had an amazing build-up that started at centerfield. After some awesome passes, Di Maria finished the play with a goal. The half ended with the score 2-0, Argentina.

In the second half, France came alive, and the game went back and forth. With only 10 minutes left, Argentina committed a foul inside of their box, leading to a PK for France. Mbappe made the PK for France, leaving the score 2-1. Only 1 minute later, Mbappe scored another goal, tying up the game at 2-2. There were 9 minutes left in the game, and the two teams were fighting to win. There were multiple chances for each team to claim the trophy, but no one ended up scoring. Since the game was tied, it went into overtime.

Overtime for soccer includes two 15-minute halves. If the game is still tied at the end of both halves, the game goes into a penalty shootout. The first half of overtime was pretty even. No one scored. The second half of overtime was intense. In the 108th minute, Messi scored his second goal, leaving the score 3-2. France didn't give up quite yet though. Two minutes before overtime ended, Mbappe scored yet another goal at the penalty spot. This goal was Mbappe's 3rd goal of the game, giving him a hat trick. A hat trick is when the same player scores 3 goals in one game. The end of overtime whistle blew, and it was time for a penalty shootout.

The penalty shootout consists of 10 shots total, 5 from each team. If each team makes or misses the same number of goals, then it becomes sudden death, if one teams makes it and the other misses, then they win. The first team who shot was France. Mbappe took their first penalty and made his 4th goal, which was also his 3rd goal from the penalty spot this game. Next, Messi was up. He made his shot and his 3rd goal this game. Next up, Argentina's goalkeeper saved the penalty from France. Then, Argentina's player made his penalty, giving them the advantage, 2-1. Next, France's player hit the goal post, and it bounced out. After that, Argentina's player made his penalty, moving the score to 3-1. If France's player missed their next goal, Argentina would win. Luckily for France, he made it. All Argentina had to do was score their next goal, and they were the 2022 FIFA World Cup Champions. The player handled the pressure well and put the goal in the back of the net. Argentina was the 2022 FIFA World Cup Champion.

The losers of the semi-finals game, Croatia and Morocco, faced off in the 3rd place game on Saturday, December 17. The game ended with the score 2-1. Croatia won the bronze and got 3rd place in the World Cup.

Overall, this was a World Cup to remember. Messi fulfilled his childhood dream of winning a World Cup. Mbappe now has more career goals in FIFA World Cup Finals than any other male player.