Brazil great Pele sent congratulations to Argentina after their breathtaking World Cup final victory, describing Lionel Messi's success as the moment "his trajectory deserved".

Pele, confined to hospital recently, has been attentive to events at Qatar 2022 and said Argentina's trophy win would have delighted the late Diego Maradona.

The big moment for 35-year-old Messi means he finally has a World Cup victory to his name, matching compatriot Maradona who was the driving force behind Argentina's Mexico 86 triumph. Maradona died in November 2020 at the age of 60.

"Congratulations Argentina! Certainly Diego is smiling now," Pele wrote on Instagram.

There was sympathy from 82-year-old Pele for Kylian Mbappe, who finished on the losing side despite scoring two penalties and a stunning volley to complete only the second hat-trick in a men's World Cup final, after Geoff Hurst's 1966 treble for England against West Germany.

Argentina lifted the trophy after a 3-3 draw on Sunday, winning the penalty shoot-out 4-2 after misses from Kingsley Coman and Aurelien Tchouameni.

Messi scored twice in a classic match before both he and Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Mbappe converted penalties at the beginning of the shoot-out.

The Golden Ball, for the tournament's best player, went to Messi for a second time, while Mbappe finished as top scorer with eight goals, earning the Golden Boot.

Three-time World Cup winner Pele hailed Mbappe's feat of hitting the back of the net four times, including the shoot-out, and he also offered praise to Morocco, who finished fourth after becoming Africa's first World Cup semi-finalists.

"Today, football continues to tell its story, as always, in an enthralling way," Pele said. "Messi winning his first World Cup, as his trajectory deserved.

"My dear friend, Mbappe, scoring four goals in a final. What a gift it was to watch this spectacle to the future of our sport.

"And I couldn't fail to congratulate Morocco for the incredible campaign. It's great to see Africa shine."

Lionel Messi promised he would play on for Argentina to experience "a few more games being world champion" after inspiring their triumph in Qatar.

The World Cup belongs to Messi and Argentina after Sunday's spectacular final that saw Kylian Mbappe hit a hat-trick for France but still end up on the losing side.

A 4-2 victory on penalties after a 3-3 draw gave Argentina their third World Cup success, after lifting the trophy in 1978 and 1986, and means Messi's final appearance on the biggest stage of all ended in a fairy tale manner.

It was the trophy he had been striving to win before the end of his career, and the 35-year-old finished the tournament with seven goals and three assists, becoming the first player to score in every round and the group stage.

He took the Golden Ball award as the best player, but Mbappe pipped him to the Golden Boot with eight goals.

Messi told TyC Sports: "Obviously I wanted to close my career with this, I can't ask for anything any more. Thank God, he gave me everything. Closing almost my career like this, it's impressive."

Messi knows his career is winding down, and he put in the work to make sure he was in prime shape for one last shot at the World Cup.

His emotional reaction after the final whistle, kissing the trophy at the first opportunity, reflected how dearly Messi wanted this moment.

A double in the final meant Messi became the highest-scoring South American player in major international tournaments with 26 goals - 13 in the World Cup as many in the Copa America. That took him one goal ahead of Brazil great Ronaldo, who previously held the record.

"After this, what will there be? I was able to get the Copa America, World Cup… It came to me almost at the end," Messi said

"I enjoy being in the national team, the group, I want to continue living a few more games being world champion.

"It's every little kid's dream, I was lucky to have achieved everything and what I was missing is here."

Didier Deschamps will make a decision on his France future in the new year after overseeing Les Bleus' dramatic penalty shoot-out loss to Argentina in the World Cup final.

Kylian Mbappe's hat-trick – just the second to be scored in a men's World Cup final – saw France twice come from behind in a thrilling 3-3 draw after extra time at Lusail Stadium. 

However, it was Mbappe's Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Lionel Messi who got his hands on the famous trophy, with Kingsley Coman and Aurelien Tchouameni failing to convert in the shoot-out.

The defeat will likely revive speculation regarding Deschamps' future, with France great Zinedine Zidane having long been touted as a potential successor.

Deschamps, however, will take his time to weigh up whether to extend his 10-year stay with the two-time world champions.

"You're not first to ask. Even if we had won, I would not be able to answer that tonight," Deschamps said at his post-match press conference.

"Of course, I am very sad for the players and staff, but I'll have a meeting with the [French Football Federation] president at the start of next year and then you'll find out."

Messi scored Argentina's opening goal in the final after Angel Di Maria went down under Ousmane Dembele's challenge, provoking an angry reaction from several France players.

Deschamps made his own frustration with the performance of referee Szymon Marciniak clear after the game, though he also offered his congratulations to Argentina.

"I need to be careful what I say. You saw as well as I did. It could have been worse, could have been better," he said when asked about the officials' display.

"There were some decisions that gave rise to discussion but that's the case in every game. I said before the game that Argentina had been lucky, not that they were helped by decisions. 

"I don't want to take anything away from them, they fully deserve the title. It's not because of decisions that they came out victorious, and I just discussed this with the referee. 

"I don't want to get into what was said, I just want to congratulate Argentina."

French president Emmanuel Macron was seen speaking to Deschamps in the aftermath of Sunday's defeat, and he told RMC Sport he had encouraged the 54-year-old to remain in post.

"Of course, I asked Didier Deschamps to continue, I want him to continue! I told him he had to digest," Macron said.

Lionel Messi is a World Cup winner at the fifth and final attempt, after Argentina held their nerve to defeat France in one of the greatest matches in tournament history.

The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner, who claimed a second Golden Ball with his brace, saw off domestic team-mate Kylian Mbappe, who bagged only the second-ever hat-trick in men's final history, to win in Doha.

La Albiceleste appeared to have wrapped up the prize after goals for Messi and Angel Di Maria in the first half, but were made to work for their triumph after France rose from the canvas to force extra-time – and then penalties again after a 3-3 draw.

But Argentina delivered in the shoot-out, winning it 4-2 to end a 36-year drought for football's biggest prize, and confirming one of their true legends adds the biggest accolade of all to his trophy cabinet.

Messi's long-awaited success at the tournament was widely celebrated by players and peers across the game, with Paris Saint-Germain colleague Neymar saluting him on social media.

"Congratulations brother," he posted on Twitter.

Romario, who like Messi won the Golden Ball and the World Cup trophy in the same tournament when he did so with Brazil in 1994, mentioned Argentina legend Diego Maradona, with this the first tournament since his passing in November 2020.

"I'm sure my friend Maradona is happy to see this victory, as are his people," Romario said on Twitter. "Congratulations Argentina!

"Argentina were better on the field and Messi received the title he was missing today, that of world champion for his country."

Andrea Pirlo, a World Cup winner with Italy in 2006, stated: "Great final... congratulations to Messi and Argentina!"

Jerome Boateng started for Germany against Argentina in the 2014 World Cup final, when a 113th-minute Mario Gotze winner condemned Messi's side to defeat.

Having watched Messi come back from that devastating loss to finally get his hands on international football's top prize, Boateng spoke of his joy at watching him finally lift the trophy.

"Congratulations Lionel Messi and Argentina. Finally you got the trophy you truly deserve," Boateng said.

Former Barcelona colleague Dani Alves was delighted for Messi on Instagram, stating: "Football loves you and those of us who love football respect you and congratulate you right now for that moment.

"Enjoy it with your family. As a Brazilian and as a South American, I know that's more than winning that cup."

Kylian Mbappe made France proud with an "extraordinary" performance despite Les Bleus' heartbreaking World Cup final defeat to Argentina, says president Emmanuel Macron.

France looked destined for a demoralising loss after going two goals down at Lusail Stadium, but Mbappe scored twice in the space of 97 seconds after the break to force extra time.

After seeing his Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Lionel Messi put Argentina back in front, Mbappe converted a late penalty to become just the second player to score a hat-trick in a men's World Cup final – after England's Geoff Hurst in 1966.

While shoot-out misses from Kingsley Coman and Aurelien Tchouameni crushed France's hopes of retaining the trophy, Macron – who was seen talking with Mbappe after the defeat – said the forward had made his country proud.

"We were very far behind at the end of the first period. It's already happened, there have been comebacks like that, but it's very rare in the history of football," Macron told RMC Sport.

"We came back tremendously. It's extraordinary what Mbappe did, but the whole team were hungry again. I believed in it immensely. 

"Afterwards, we performed a second miracle by coming back from nowhere. We had match point.

"Mbappe is a very great player, but he is young, I told him he was only 23. He was top scorer at this World Cup. He won a World Cup [in 2018], he made a final. 

"I was as sad as him. I said he made us very proud and in the end we lost a football match, we went to nothing. That's sport."

Mbappe's treble took him to 12 World Cup goals in his career, drawing him level with Pele's tally and making him the youngest player to reach double figures at the tournament, aged 23 years and 363 days.

The France forward also became just the fifth player to score in two World Cup finals, after Vava (1958, 1962), Pele (1958, 1970), Paul Breitner (1974, 1982) and Zinedine Zidane (1998, 2006).

Raphael Varane has expressed his pride in the France squad, after they fell agonisingly short in the World Cup final against Argentina.

A six-goal thriller saw Didier Deschamps side come from behind twice to send the tie to penalties, as Kylian Mbappe became only the second player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final after Geoff Hurst for England in 1966.

However, Emiliano Martinez saved Kingsley Coman's spot-kick and Aurelien Tchouameni fired wide, before Gonzalo Montiel tucked home the decisive effort to hand Argentina their third World Cup crown.

After a woeful first-half display, France valiantly fought their way back into the match but ultimately fell short, though that has not altered Varane's assessment of the squad's quality.

"We are very disappointed. We gave it our all," he told TF1. "We faced a lot of obstacles during the competition, we fought until the end. We didn't give up.

"Today, for an hour, we were not in the game. We came back and we could have won too. Very proud of the French, of this group. We gave everything, we keep our heads high.

"We came back in this match when we were not in it, it was complicated. It played out very quickly. We came back and then physically, we were better than them.

"We started pushing and we believed in it. We were not far from managing to reverse the match which was badly started.

"There is mental strength in this group, a lot of heart. It allowed us to get to the final, but it wasn't enough to win."

France will regroup for the start of their qualification campaign for the 2024 European Championship, which begins in March against the Netherlands.

Diego Maradona Junior wept tears of joy as Argentina laid their hands on the World Cup for the first time since his father led the Albiceleste to Mexico 86 glory.

Two years have passed since superstar Maradona's death at the age of 60, after a tumultuous life that was defined by his World Cup achievements.

Now Lionel Messi has followed Maradona into the history books as the captain, number 10 and driving force of a team that has conquered the world.

Maradona Junior posted on Instagram a video of himself sobbing, while saying: "We're champions."

He added in a post: "The cup is going to Buenos Aires."

Argentina landed the trophy in Qatar on Sunday by beating France 4-2 in a penalty shoot-out after a sensational 3-3 draw that featured a hat-trick from Kylian Mbappe and two goals from Messi.

Maradona's Instagram account, now administered by his children, showed a merged picture of Daniel Passarella, Maradona and Messi – captains of the country's 1978, 1986 and 2022 winning teams – each holding the World Cup trophy.

"ARGENTINA WORLD CHAMPION!!!" its caption exclaimed.

"I imagine your pride, old man.. Thanks for a new joy."

Rodrigo de Paul says Argentina were "born to suffer" after celebrating his side's remarkable World Cup victory over France in Qatar.

Lionel Scaloni's side held a two-goal lead at the interval against the defending champions, but a second-half brace from Kylian Mbappe turned the tie on it's head, with further drama to follow.

Lionel Messi scored his second of the game to hand Argentina the lead again in extra time, but a second Mbappe penalty clinched the forward his hat-trick, sending the game to penalties – where Gonzalo Montiel tucked home the deciding effort.

Having fallen at the final hurdle in 1990 and 2014, the win handed Argentina their first World Cup crown since 1986 and will result in a third star on their shirt – only Brazil (five), Germany and Italy (both four) having won more.

An emotional De Paul acknowledged the attitude of the Argentinian people with his post-match assessment, referencing the suffering his people have endured in history.

"We were born to suffer, we are going to suffer all our lives, but I will never forget this," he said on the field after the final whistle.

"I think we are fair winners. To be champions, you had to beat the last champion, and we did. This is a joy I can't explain."

Fellow midfielder Enzo Fernandez, who was crowned the best young player at the tournament, revelled in the "priceless" experience he enjoyed in Qatar.

"Being here, having the possibility of winning a World Cup with my country is priceless," he said. "My whole family is here, I'm going to carry it forever in my heart."

Emiliano Martinez was thrilled with his response to being "kicked three times" by France and Kylian Mbappe, as the goalkeeper produced penalty shoot-out heroics to help Argentina claim World Cup glory.

Martinez saved from Virgil van Dijk and Steven Berghuis in a quarter-final victory over the Netherlands, and on Sunday he denied France's Kingsley Coman from 12 yards as La Albiceleste prevailed 4-2 on penalties after a hugely entertaining 3-3 draw at Lusail Stadium.

Martinez, who was awarded the Golden Glove accolade, was beaten three times in the final by Mbappe – including twice from the penalty spot – as Lionel Scaloni's side were pegged back from 2-0 and 3-2 ahead.

But the Aston Villa stopper – once an Arsenal reserve who spent time on loan at Oxford United – came to the fore again for his nation, before Gonzalo Montiel slotted the decisive kick.

"I lived the penalties quietly," Martinez said in quotes reported on Argentina's Twitter account. "Again, they kicked me three times, and they scored three goals. But I think I did everything right afterwards.

"I left a very humble place and, as a young man, I went to England. I want to dedicate this to my family."

Defender Nicolas Tagliafico added: "The first half was very good. In the second, we had our mistakes, but we knew how to pull it off. I dedicate it to all Argentines and all the people who supported this."

Many thought Lionel Messi's World Cup hopes had evaporated in the Kazan sun four and a half years ago when Argentina were beaten 4-3 by France in the quarter-finals of Russia 2018.

Qatar 2022 brought the possibility for revenge, but again those chances looked to be vanishing as a Kylian Mbappe-inspired France simply refused to go away in Sunday's utterly enthralling final, which ended 3-3 after extra time.

But with Emiliano Martinez doing the business in a penalty shoot-out for the Albiceleste, Argentina would not let the most elusive of opportunities slip from Messi's grasp again.

As the story goes, he still has sleepless nights because of the 2014 final defeat to Germany; those nightmares will be overwritten with the 2022 final replaying in his dreams for the rest of his life.

After all, for Messi, everything came down to this.

He reiterated this week that Sunday's showpiece would be his last World Cup game. Everyone assumed that would be the case anyway, but the final confirmation only served to increase the anticipation.

This was essentially France against the world. There has arguably never been a World Cup final more one-sided in terms of support, and it was all because of one player.

For years the debate over the 'greatest of all time', or 'the GOAT', has swirled around Messi. While the majority have not needed any further convincing of his entitlement to such a status, there have always been dissenters.

Messi's detractors pointed to one caveat: a lack of success with Argentina. Technically, that was accounted for last year with Copa America glory, but for him to definitively silence the most stubborn of doubters, he would need to match Diego Maradona and win the World Cup.

Even before Argentina and Les Bleus served up their feast at the massive golden bowl of Lusail, there had been countless signs that something was different about Messi this time.

There has been an anger, a vengeance to his performances and aura in Qatar. From ice-cold goal celebrations to embracing – leading, even – the needle in the quarter-final shoot-out win over the Netherlands, Messi has looked like a man possessed by in the pursuit of one final ambition.

He very much picked up where he left off against Croatia here. The first 20 minutes went almost as well as it could have, Messi at the centre of practically everything.

France looked petrified in the face of Argentina's intensity, their aggression; the Albiceleste seemed to relish the expectation on their shoulders.

Les Bleus routinely conceded possession in their own half, inviting pressure and, ultimately, a goal. Angel Di Maria skinned Ousmane Dembele easily and then lured him into a clumsy foul in the box.

The wait for Messi to take the kick felt like an age, but he dispatched it with the nonchalance of a man who already knew his destiny.

It was a just reward for Argentina's ferocious start, and more was to come in the form of an instant all-time classic World Cup final goal.

Again, Messi was crucial. His improbable flick after receiving a tricky pass was devilishly effective. Releasing Julian Alvarez into the France half on the counter, the striker had the awareness to feed Alexis Mac Allister and his perfectly weighted pass into the box left Di Maria with an easy finish.

It capped off a first-half performance that left Didier Deschamps utterly shellshocked, with the France coach's double withdrawal before half-time a first for a World Cup final.

But Argentina shrunk after the break and their plan to sit on a 2-0 lead proved ill-conceived. France did not initially threaten, but once they did, Lionel Scaloni's men were suddenly in a sorry state – oh, how the tables turned.

Mbappe slammed home one penalty, and just 97 seconds later found the net again – a clinical finish after a clever one-two with Marcus Thuram. It was Messi who yielded possession in the build-up to what had only five minutes earlier looked an impossible equaliser.

While Mbappe had gone from 0-100 in the blink of an eye, Argentina's captain suddenly looked exhausted, physically and emotionally. It was slipping through his fingers in the most excruciating way. 

And yet, even in the face of the newly inspired Mbappe, Messi stood out as the man most likely to deliver the telling blow.

Indeed, Argentina thought Messi had won it when he tapped in after Hugo Lloris failed to hold Lautaro Martinez's strike in the second half of extra time.

But back came France. Again. Another Mbappe penalty brought despair to the Argentina team, bench and crowd. A shoot-out beckoned, and even then only after Emiliano Martinez had saved brilliantly from Randal Kolo Muani at the death.

And so it was that the most outrageous of World Cup finals was going all the way; Messi's last tango was going to be as agonisingly intense as possible.

Mbappe stepped up first and scored, of course, but Messi matched that with a penalty so cool-headed that his team-mates must surely have drawn inspiration from it.

Emiliano Martinez's save from Kingsley Coman and Aurelien Tchouameni's woeful miss proved decisive. Argentina cried; France stood in shock having come so close to their own seismic moment in history, fighting back twice in defence of their title, only to leave with nothing.

But this was all about Messi. The greatest player of all time finally got his chance to lift the most coveted prize in football, the one trophy his greatness demanded. Argentina flocked to him, barely a dry eye in the stadium.

"Messi! Messi! Messi!" fans sang at full-time as the huge crowd in Lusail revelled in the gravity of what they had just witnessed.

This was what World Cup finals are supposed to be like, but in virtually every way there will probably never be another like this.

It was the football equivalent of man setting foot on the moon for the first time; in future years people will reminisce over where they were when Messi won the World Cup, and the sheer lunacy of the game will only add to what was already a captivating tale.

At long last, Messi took his own giant leap, finally conquering his final frontier.

The 2022 World Cup became the highest-scoring edition in tournament history following Argentina's thrilling final triumph over France on Sunday.

The Albiceleste won the tournament for a third time in remarkable fashion at Lusail Stadium, with Gonzalo Montiel converting the decisive spot-kick in a penalty shoot-out following an end-to-end 3-3 draw.

Kylian Mbappe became just the second player to score a hat-trick in a men's World Cup final as Les Bleus twice fought back, and his third goal of the game ensured the tournament made history.

By taking advantage of Montiel's handball to net his second penalty in the second half of extra-time, Mbappe scored the 172nd goal of this World Cup.

That ensured the tournament surpassed the previous record of 171, held jointly by the 1998 and 2014 editions. 

Meanwhile, Sunday's final – which also featured a brace from victorious captain and Golden Ball winner Lionel Messi – was the first tournament showpiece to feature at least three goals from both teams.

Lionel Messi has won the World Cup Golden Ball, becoming the first man to do so twice, after inspiring Argentina to a penalty shoot-out victory over France following a scintillating Qatar 2022 final.

Messi, who steered La Albiceleste to their first world title since 1986, scored a double in an undulating classic that finished 3-3 after extra time, before scoring in a shoot-out that Argentina won 4-2 to make history in Doha.

Having been named the Golden Ball winner eight years ago at Brazil 2014, when Argentina were edged by Germany in the final, the 35-year-old twice looked poised for heartbreak again after Kylian Mbappe's hat-trick.

But after Emiliano Martinez saved Kingsley Coman's spot-kick, Gonzalo Montiel's decisive penalty ensured he claimed the greatest prize of all in his last World Cup game.

It means Messi emulates countryman Diego Maradona once more, too, with Maradona the player of the tournament in Argentina's previous triumph 36 years ago.

The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner departs World Cup football after one of the most influential tournament performances of all time on a match-to-match basis, taking his total of Player of the Match wins to 11 across five tournaments.

He was named the Player of the Match in five games, including all of their prior knockout fixtures and the final, besting the record of four he previously jointly shared with the Netherlands' Wesley Sneijder after his performances in 2014.

Mbappe, meanwhile, won up the Silver Ball and Croatia's Luca Modric - the previous Golden Ball winner at Russia 2018 - was named the recipient of the Bronze Ball.

Kylian Mbappe clinched the World Cup Golden Boot with a dramatic hat-trick in Sunday's final, though his efforts were in vain as Lionel Messi's Argentina triumphed on penalties.

Mbappe entered Sunday's game level with Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Messi on five goals, and twice fell behind in his battle with the Argentina captain in a thrilling contest.

Messi became the first player to reach 20 World Cup goal involvements when he opened the scoring with a penalty following Ousmane Dembele's trip on Angel Di Maria, who then capped a flowing move to put Argentina 2-0 up.

However, Mbappe was gifted a route back into the battle atop the goalscoring charts with 10 minutes remaining, tucking a penalty home after Nicolas Otamendi fouled Randal Kolo Muani.

Mbappe then moved clear in the race for the Golden Boot in incredible fashion 97 seconds later, lashing a first-time volley beyond Emiliano Martinez to force extra time.

Messi looked to have sealed the award – and the trophy for his country – once again when he prodded Argentina back in front in extra time, but Mbappe responded with yet another spot-kick when Gonzalo Montiel was penalised for handball.

That made Mbappe just the second player to score a hat-trick in a men's World Cup final, and the first since England's Geoff Hurst did so against West Germany in 1966.

Mbappe followed up his heroics by converting the first penalty of the shoot-out, but misses from Kingsley Coman and Aurelien Tchouameni saw his campaign end in heart-breaking fashion as Argentina claimed their third title. 

Having netted in 2018's win against Croatia, Mbappe is now the highest-scoring player in World Cup final history with four, while his overall tally of 12 goals at the tournament puts him level with three-time champion Pele.

Mbappe's total of eight goals in Qatar is the joint highest at a single World Cup since Gerd Muller scored 10 times in 1970 (also Ronaldo, eight in 2002), but that will come as little consolation to the forward following France's painful defeat.

Lionel Messi and Argentina won an all-time classic World Cup final despite Kylian Mbappe's hat-trick taking France into a penalty shoot-out following a 3-3 draw on Sunday.

Gonzalo Montiel converted the winning spot-kick to clinch a 4-2 shoot-out success for Argentina at the end of a thriller at Lusail Stadium, with goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez having saved Kingsley Coman's attempt and seen Aurelien Tchouameni fire wide.

France, aiming to become only the third side to ever retain the trophy, battled back from two goals down in normal time after Mbappe converted an 81st-minute penalty and scored a delightful volley 97 seconds later.

Messi had opened the scoring, before Angel Di Maria rounded off a delightful counter-attacking move, and the Albiceleste number 10 restored his side's lead in the 108th minute, only for Mbappe to respond again two minutes before the end of extra time.

That teed up penalties, with both Mbappe and Messi converting before Argentina gave their captain a fitting World Cup farewell. 

Kylian Mbappe became the youngest player to score 10 World Cup goals on the way to dragging France level with Argentina in Sunday's Qatar 2022 final.

The forward gave Les Bleus hope from the penalty spot in the 80th minute, before a stunning volley squared things up just 97 seconds later at Lusail Stadium, where Lionel Messi's spot-kick and a goal from Angel Di Maria had seemingly put Argentina in control.

Taking his World Cup tally to 11 goals, Mbappe is the youngest player to reach double figures at the finals – aged 23 years 363 days – surpassing Gerd Muller's record (24 years, 226 days).

The Paris Saint-Germain star also became the fifth player to score three times in a World Cup final, having also netted against Croatia in the 2018 showpiece, along with Vava, Geoff Hurst, Pele and Zinedine Zidane.