• This was only the second World Cup final to see both sides score a penalty after the 1974 clash between Germany and Netherlands. It was also the first ever showpiece to see both sides score at least three goals.
• Argentina have won the World Cup for a third time, 36 years since their last triumph in 1986. Only Italy (44 years from 1938 to 1982) have ever had a longer gap between winning two World Cups.
• Each of the last three reigning champions to reach the World Cup final failed to win that final, with France joining Argentina in 1990 and Brazil in 1998 in doing so.
• Argentina have won more penalty shoot-outs than any nation in World Cup history, with this their sixth such triumph. They are the third nation to win a World Cup final shoot-out after Brazil in 1994 and Italy in 2006. 

The FIFA World Cup trophy will be at stake until 2038. No country will win it for keeps

Ahead of last Sunday’s World Cup final match which Argentina won, there were speculations that the winners may get the FIFA World Cup trophy for keeps since it was the going to be the third time.

Earlier when Brazil won the then Jules Rimet Cup for the third time in 1970, the cup was awarded them definatively. Brazil had won in 1958, 1962 and 1970.

The current trophy was introduced in 1974 and has been at stake ever since. Sports Village Square can confirm that no team can win this trophy for keeps on account of winning it three times.

The inaugural winners were West Germany in 1974. They won again in 1990 before a united Germany won for the third time in 2014. Thus, Argentina, that Germany defeated to win the cup in both 1990 and 2014 did not have the trophy for keeps.

So, Argentina will not. According to a FIFA publication,”FIFA 1904 to 1984” to mark to mark the 80^th anniversary of the founding of the football governing body, no team will win the current trophy for keeps.

On page 268 of the book, FIFA wrote: “This trophy which is 36 centimetres high cannot be won for good. According to the Regulations, it remains in FIFA’s possession. The winning Association recieves a replica which is ‘only’ gold plated and not in solid gold.

“There is enough space for 17 inscriptions on the plaques on the base. The last plaque will thus be engraved in the year 2038.”

France’s Kylian Mbappe with French President Emmanuel Macron during the trophy ceremony

France are disappointed they could not successfully defend their World Cup crown after losing to Argentina on penalties in Sunday’s final but leave Qatar with heads high having fought until the end, players Raphael Varane and Hugo Lloris said.

France fought back twice through Kylian Mbappe, who erased Argentina’s 2-0 lead in 97 seconds in normal time before scoring a third in extra time to level it at 3-3.

But the South Americans won 4-2 on penalties.

“We are very disappointed of course, we gave everything. We had to face a lot of obstacles during the competition, we gave up nothing,” Varane said.

“For an hour we were not in the game. We could have won too. I’m very proud of this group and of being French. We keep our heads high. We came back in this game when it was complicated.

“We pushed and we believed until the end. We almost turned the game around, which was not going well… There was mental strength in this group, a lot of heart. That allowed us to come back in this game. We’re disappointed but also proud.”

Argentina were the better team in the first half and stormed into a 2-0 halftime lead before Mbappe brought them level with goals in the 80th and 81st minute of the contest which France skipper Lloris described as a “boxing match”.

“The Argentines got off to a great start, being aggressive, using all facets of the game. We were a bit reactionary all night,” the goalkeeper said.

France had also come into the final after several players missed training sessions due to illness over the past week, but Lloris refused to use that as an excuse.

“We’re not going to make excuses, we gave everything,” he added. “You have to congratulate the guys because we didn’t give up until the end.”

Following the conclusion of the 2022 World Cup, the organizers have handed out awards to outstanding players.

Argentina midfielder, Enzo Fernandez, has been named Young Player of the Tournament.

His teammate Lionel Messi is the Player of the Tournament.

Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez takes home the Goalkeeper of the Tournament prize.

France forward, Kylian Mbappe, who scored eight goals for Les Bleus wins the Top Scorer of the Tournament.

Argentina won the trophy via a penalty shoot-out after the game ended 3-3 after 120 minutes.

FULL LIST:

Enzo Fernández (Young Player of the Tournament).

Emiliano Martínez (Goalkeeper of the Tournament).

Kylian Mbappe (Top scorer of the Tournament).

Lionel Messi (Player of the Tournament).

Argentina defeated France 4-2 in a penalty shoot-out to win the World Cup for the third time on Sunday.

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

In an extraordinary night of high drama, Argentinian substitute Gonzalo Montiel stroked home the winning spot-kick to seal an agonising shoot-out loss for defending champions France.

France had fought back from 2-0 down and 3-2 down in extra-time to make it 3-3 and take the game to penalties.

Messi had given Argentina the lead from the penalty spot in the first half before Angel Di Maria made it 2-0.

The Argentinians looked to be cruising to victory until Mbappe scored twice in the 80th and 81st minutes to level it at 2-2.

France looked the likelier team to go on and win it, but Messi put Argentina 3-2 ahead in extra-time after poking home from close range after Lautaro Martinez’s shot was parried by France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.

But there was more drama two minutes from the end of extra-time when Montiel conceded a penalty for handball.

Messi’s Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Mbappe stepped up to score from the spot for the second time to take the game to penalties.