Argentina National Football Team vs France National Football Team Lineups: Messi’s Men Survive a Mbappé Hat-Trick to Lift the World Cup

Football fans still argue about which final produced more drama, and the argentina national football team vs france national football team lineups from the 2022 Qatar showpiece explain why.

Two Golden Ball and Golden Boot winners went toe-to-toe for 120 minutes, and neither lineup blinked until the penalty spot decided it. Here’s the full statistical breakdown of how Argentina outlasted France 4-2 on penalties after a 3-3 draw.

The Lead

On December 18, 2022, at the Lusail Iconic Stadium in Lusail, Qatar, in front of 88,966 fans, Argentina and France played out one of the most complete World Cup finals ever staged. Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 23rd minute after Ousmane Dembélé fouled Ángel Di María in the box, and Di María doubled the lead in the 36th minute after a slick team move down the left.

For long stretches, Argentina looked in total command, controlling possession and starving Kylian Mbappé of service.

France needed two moves of individual brilliance to save the match. Mbappé converted a penalty in the 80th minute, then buried a stunning first-time volley 97 seconds later to level it at 2-2 and force extra time. Messi restored Argentina’s lead in the 108th minute, only for Mbappé to complete his hat-trick from the spot in the 118th minute and send the final to penalties.

Argentina held their nerve from 12 yards, converting all four of their attempts while goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez and a wayward effort from Aurélien Tchouaméni sealed a 4-2 shootout win and Argentina’s third World Cup title.

Match Overview Table

Core Match Statistics Overview

The argentina national football team vs france national football team lineups produced starkly different statistical profiles, with Argentina dominating possession and shot volume while France relied on razor-sharp efficiency in front of goal.

Shot Volume vs. Efficiency

• Argentina doubled France’s shot count (21 to 10) but converted at a lower rate, a gap that nearly cost them the trophy.
• France needed only two players, Mbappé and a wayward Dembélé effort, to generate a genuine attacking threat for most of the match.

Ball Progression and Dribbling

• France’s 17 successful dribbles compared with Argentina’s 7 highlight how much of France’s game plan leaned on individual carries from Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé rather than structured build-up play.
• Argentina’s higher pass count (632 to 531) reflects a patient possession approach designed to draw France out of shape.

Goalkeeping and Shot-Stopping

• Hugo Lloris made six saves across normal and extra time, several of them keeping France within touching distance of the match.
• Emiliano Martínez made only two saves in normal play but produced the decisive stop in the shootout, denying Tchouaméni’s attempt after Kingsley Coman also missed.

Physical and Defensive Duels

• France edged the tackle count 26 to 23, with Adrien Rabiot’s hour-mark challenge on Messi a key moment that prevented an early third goal.
• Both sides matched each other with 10 interceptions apiece, underlining how tightly contested the midfield battle really was.

Period-by-Period Analysis

First Half

• Argentina controlled the tempo from the opening whistle, forcing Dembélé into the error that gave away the 23rd-minute penalty converted by Messi.
• Di María’s 36th-minute finish, capping a team move through De Paul and Mac Allister, effectively silenced the France front line for the rest of the half.
• France’s front three of Mbappé, Giroud, and Dembélé barely touched the ball in dangerous areas, prompting an early half-time change.

Second Half

• Didier Deschamps’ double substitution at the break, bringing on Kolo Muani and Marcus Thuram, gave France far more pace and directness in the final third.
• Mbappé’s 80th-minute penalty and his sensational 81st-minute volley arrived within 97 seconds of each other, the fastest brace of its kind in a World Cup final.
• Argentina’s midfield, dominant for an hour, suddenly looked stretched as France committed numbers forward and won the territorial battle late on.

Extra Time

• Messi’s 108th-minute finish, following a Lautaro Martínez effort that was saved and recycled, appeared to have won it before France responded again.
• Mbappé’s second penalty, awarded and converted in the 118th minute after a Gonzalo Montiel handball, completed the first hat-trick in a World Cup final since Geoff Hurst in 1966.
• Both goalkeepers were forced into stoppage-time saves as fatigue opened space that had not existed for most of the 120 minutes.

Penalty Shootout

• Argentina converted all four attempts (Messi, Dybala, Paredes, Montiel), while France scored through Mbappé but missed through Coman and Tchouaméni.
• Montiel’s decisive spot kick sealed the argentina national football team vs france national football team lineups showdown 4-2 on penalties.

Argentina Player Statistics

France Player Statistics

Statistical Leaders Summary Table

Why Argentina Won

Balanced Attacking Output Across the Lineup

• Argentina’s attack did not rely on one player breaking down France; De Paul, Mac Allister, and Di María all combined before the second goal.
• That balance meant France could not simply mark one man out of the game the way they nearly did with Mbappé for 75 minutes.

Midfield Control Through Enzo Fernández

• Fernández’s tournament-high touch and pass numbers in the final let Argentina dictate rhythm for long stretches, particularly in the first half.
• His tackling numbers also disrupted France’s transition play before their second-half substitutions changed the picture.

Composure From the Penalty Spot

• Argentina scored all four of their shootout attempts, a rare feat under the pressure of a World Cup final.
• Martínez’s pre-kick gamesmanship and eventual save on Tchouaméni gave Argentina the cushion they needed to close it out.

Why France Lost

Slow Start From the Front Three

• Giroud and Dembélé combined for almost no attacking output in the first 45 minutes, leaving Mbappé isolated against a well-organized Argentina backline.
• The concession of an early penalty and a second goal before half-time meant France were chasing the game for the rest of normal time.

Heavy Dependence on One Player

• Every one of France’s three goals came directly from Mbappé, a level of reliance that is difficult to sustain across 120 minutes.
• Once Argentina’s defense adjusted to double-team him in extra time, France’s other attacking outlets could not create a fourth chance.

Historical Context & Advanced Insights

Season Series Breakdown

The 2022 final was effectively a rematch of the 2018 knockout tie in Kazan, where a teenage Mbappé first announced himself on the world stage against this same Argentina squad.

Advanced Statistical Insights

Argentina’s shot-to-conversion gap (21 shots, 14% conversion) against France’s leaner but sharper output (10 shots, 30% conversion) tells the real story of the match. Argentina generated volume through patient buildup, while France scored almost exclusively through moments of individual quality from Mbappé rather than sustained pressure.

That efficiency differential is why a heavily one-sided shot count still produced a level scoreline after 120 minutes, and why the argentina national football team vs france national football team lineups will be studied for years as a case study in quality over quantity finishing.

Game Implications & Key Lessons

What This Means for Argentina

• The win delivered Argentina’s third World Cup title and the first for Messi, closing the biggest gap on his career resume.
• Manager Lionel Scaloni became only the third coach in history to win both a World Cup and a Copa América with the same generation of players.
• The squad’s ability to win despite conceding a two-goal cushion in extra time will shape how future Argentina sides approach late-game management.

What This Means for France

• Despite the defeat, Mbappé’s Golden Boot and record-equaling tournament goal tally confirmed him as the sport’s next generational forward.
• France’s slow start highlighted a recurring issue with rotation fatigue after a taxing knockout run, something Deschamps addressed only at half-time.
• The near-miss comeback showed France’s squad depth off the bench, with Kolo Muani and Thuram both changing the game’s complexion within minutes of entering.

Key Lessons

• A dominant shot count does not guarantee a result if conversion efficiency lags behind the opponent.
• Concentrating creative buildup through one elite midfielder, as Argentina did with Fernández, can control a final’s tempo.
• Individual brilliance can offset a full team’s structural advantage, as Mbappé proved almost single-handedly.
• Shootout composure is a skill that can be prepared for, not just left to instinct.
• Half-time substitutions can completely alter a match’s momentum, as Deschamps demonstrated with Kolo Muani and Thuram.
• Depending on one scoring outlet is a high-risk strategy over 120 minutes of football.

FAQs

Who won the Argentina vs France World Cup final?

Argentina won 4-2 on penalties after the match finished 3-3 following extra time.

Who scored the most goals in the final?

Kylian Mbappé scored the most individual goals with a hat-trick, but Lionel Messi’s Argentina won the match overall.

What were Messi’s stats in the final?

Messi scored twice, from a first-half penalty and again in extra time, and was named the tournament’s Golden Ball winner as its best player.

What were Mbappé’s stats in the final?

Mbappé scored three goals, including two penalties and a stunning extra-time volley, finishing the tournament with the Golden Boot as top scorer.

Who won the penalty shootout for Argentina?

Messi, Paulo Dybala, Leandro Paredes, and Gonzalo Montiel all converted, with Montiel’s kick sealing the win.

Where was the 2022 World Cup final played?

The match was played at the Lusail Iconic Stadium in Lusail, Qatar, in front of 88,966 spectators.

Conclusion

The argentina national football team vs france national football team lineups from the 2022 final showed that team-wide efficiency can outlast even the most electric individual performance.

Argentina’s structured, possession-based approach through Enzo Fernández and Di María created enough separation to survive Mbappé’s historic hat-trick, and their composure from the penalty spot ultimately decided a final that will be remembered as one of the sport’s greatest.