Agony to ecstasy: Argentina fans go wild after talisman Lionel Messi takes them to World Cup glory while devastated French supporters see their dreams of back-to-back trophies crushed
- Argentina supporters have flooded the streets after winning the World Cup
- While French fans in Paris have been left despondent after the loss on penalties
- The dramatic World Cup Final ended 3-3 after extra time and went to a shoot out
Jubilant Argentina fans have been flooding the streets of Buenos Aires following their dramatic win on penalties in the World Cup Final against France.
While French supporters where left looking despondent as their team launched an incredible comeback but missed out on back-to back World Cup victories.
The dramatic final ended 3-3 after extra time following two goals from Messi and a hattrick from Mbappe before it went on to penalties.
Argentina won 4-2 in the shoot out leaving crowds of football lovers in public spaces across the world chanting Messi’s name.
The freezing streets of major cities including Paris were turned into seas of discarded blue-red-and white confetti as chants of Allez les bleus ! and renditions of La Marseillaise national anthem came to a dramatic halt.
Argentina fans have been passionately celebrating their World Cup Final victory across the world (fans in Madrid)
French fans react as their side lose on penalties to Argentina in the World Cup final
Argentina fans have been passionately celebrating their World Cup Final victory across the world (fans in Madrid)
Fans of Argentina celebrate after watching Argentina beat France on the Lusail Boulevard, Lusail, Qatar
Thousands of Argentine fans celebrate their team’s World Cup victory over France, in Buenos Aires
The streets of Buenos Aires have been packed with ecstatic supporters for hours (pictured)
Disappointed French support watching in Douai, France, as their team misses out on back to back wins
Kylian Mbappe and France players show dejection after the team’s defeat
Argentina’s fans celebrate the victory of the Argentine national team against France for the World Cup final, in Qatar, on Copacabana beach, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Argentina fans celebrate in a bar in Barcelona, Spain during the World Cup final
Lionel Messi sent the Lusail stadium into raptures as he finally realised his dream of winning a World Cup, guiding Argentina to glory through a nerve-wracking win in Qatar.
Argentinian fans the world over erupted in wild celebrations as their team prevailed, scoring every spot kick while France squandered two of their efforts amid the mind games of Argentinian goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
Earlier Messi had scored a desperate goal in extra time to drag his team back in front of defending champions France – only for Kylian Mbappe to seal a hat-trick and set up a nerve-wracking penalty shootout.
The south American fans, who vastly outnumbered their French counterparts in Qatar, were powerless to contain their joy when the final penalty was scored, while the Argentinian players immediately burst into floods of tears as they mobbed their captain Messi.
Argentine soccer fans celebrate their team’s World Cup victory over France, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022
Fans reacts during the final football match of the Qatar 2022 World Cup between Argentina and France on a screen in Paris on December 18, 2022.
France fans react on the Champs-Elysees during the final between France and Argentina
A sad French fan watches the game between Argentina v France in Paris
There were only around 6000 France supporters watching the game in Qatar, but millions were packed into bars and cafés back home.
They included those watching on TV around Argentina, the stop on the Line 1 of the Paris Metro underground train system which had been renamed France for the day.
Those in Doha included President Emmanuel Macron, who could be seen punching the air every time France scored, but then looking dejected out on the pitch.
‘We are all devasted – that was the best World Cup final ever, but our penalties were not good enough.’ said Eléa Avel, who has been supporting her national side since the early 1980s.
‘We lost our nerve – and perhaps were not as fit as we should have been,’ said the 53-year-old, as she wore a dark blue cockerel hat and France flag over her shoulders close to the Louvre museum, in central Paris.
There had been reports of a virus in the France camp in Qatar, with players complaining of flu-like symptoms, and being sapped of energy.
Ms Avel said: ‘This is no excuse, but the health of the players was clearly an issue. I remember our first World Cup win in 1998, then again in Russia in 2018, and now we are no longer World Champions. It is a terrible feeling.’
A fan reacts at the end of the final football match of the Qatar 2022 World Cup Final
A French supporter buries his head into a France flag after their loss to Argentina
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