• Argentina won their third FIFA World Cup beating France 4-2 in a penalty shootout on December 18.

• Argentina captain Lionel Messi scored twice and France striker Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick as a thrilling World Cup final finished 3-3 after extra time at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar.

• The World Cup final between Argentina and France went into extra time after the French roared back from two goals down to bring the score to 2-2.

• Argentina won its previous World Cup titles in 1978 and 1986. In Qatar, the country backed up its victory from last year’s Copa America, its first major trophy since 1993.

• Mbappe became the first player since England’s Geoff Hurst in 1966 to net a World Cup final hat-trick.

• Lionel Messi won the Golden Ball for the best player at this year’s World Cup.

• France striker Kylian Mbappe won the Golden Boot with eight goals, one more than Argentina’s Messi.

• Argentina’s Emiliano Martinez won the Golden Glove award while Enzo Fernandez won the Best Young Player award.

• The United States, Mexico and Canada will host the 2026 World Cup. It will be played in 16 cities: 11 in the United States, three in Mexico and two in Canada.

Messi sets a few incredible records

• Most wins by a player in the World Cup: After the final clash with France, Messi has won 17 matches in FIFA World Cup tournaments. He has joined German legend Miroslav Klose to hold the record of maximum wins in World Cup matches.

• Most appearances by a player in World Cup: Messi played his 26th World Cup match and became the player with most world cup appearances surpassing Germany’s Lothar Matthaus.

• Most minutes played in World Cup: Messi surpassed Italian legend Paolo Maldini to play the most minutes in World Cup history. Before the final match, Messi was 23 minutes short of Maldini who had played 2,217 minutes.

• Player who scored in each knock-out stage: Messi is now the first player in the history of the World Cup to score in the group stages, Round of 16, quarter finals, semi finals and final.

• Highest scoring Argentine in World Cup history: Messi scored his 14th goal against France as he became the highest scoring Argentina player in the World Cup history.

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