Lionel Messi etched his name in history books last year as Argentina defeated France in the finals of the World Cup. With the win, La Pulga got his hands on the only title that evaded him throughout his career. However, things could have been completely different as French superstar Kylian Mbappe was hellbent on clinching back-to-back world titles. Just when Argentina was cruising 2-0 till the 79th minute, Mbappe decided to put on a show. Reflecting on the incident in a recent interview, Messi touched down on Mbappe’s defiant efforts as he blamed himself for France’s reemergence in the final.

However, the Albicelestes held their nerves with the game being dragged to penalties. Aston Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez emerged as the hero for Argentina during the finals as he made crucial saves that saw the side clinch the world title.

Lionel Messi unhappy for giving up possession as France equalized

In an interview with ESPN Argentine superstar Lionel Messi reminisced about the fightback from France during the World Cup final. France’s comeback was scripted by Mbappe as he scored in the 80th and in the 81st minute back to back and almost threatened to take the game away.

La Pulga stated, “I was very angry because I had lost the ball. The same thing happened to me as in the play with Croatia. I wanted to take it inside, it went outside and I finished it stealing. The anger that the goal had come from a loss on my part, even though it was in the middle of the field and it was far away. It was a ball that we had.”

Messi, following Mbappe’s two consecutive goals, once again put his side in the lead in the dying moments of the game scoring in the 108th minute. However, France was provided with a golden opportunity via a penalty to level things up in the 118th minute and Kylian Mbappe obliged again, dragging the game into penalties.

Emiliano Martinez’s heroics help Argentina bag the World Cup

While Lionel Messi bagged all the applause for Argentina’s World Cup win, Aston Villa star Emiliano Martinez played a key role in the team’s triumph. With the scores leveled in the closing minutes of the game, Martinez stopped Randal Kolo Muani from scoring in the dying seconds of the match. Had that gone in, it would have been the final nail in Argentina’s coffin.

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The keeper then put the pressure on France during the penalty shoot-out, which saw both Tchouameni and Kingsley Coman miss their penalties as Argentina bagged a 4-2 win. The keeper’s performance throughout the tournament saw him close the campaign with the Golden Glove award to his name. Martinez also displayed his goalkeeping calibre in tie-breakers when Argentina faced The Netherlands in the quarterfinals.

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