In hindsight it felt like it had to be. But it was a rollercoaster match that led up to the moment where Lionel Messi lifted the World Cup trophy in Qatar.

It was a thrilling game, possibly the best World Cup final of all times as some have described it. Argentina took control by locking Mbappe between Molina and De Paul, with Di Maria on the left so Dembele would track back instead of attacking. And we saw Enzo Fernandez’s energy around Griezmann, who is normally the creator and starts the attack for France. Julian Alvarez never looked like running out of energy up until the last minute of the game.

Argentina almost looked to be sailing to victory when they were 2-0 up deep into the second half, but it was a magic couple of minutes from Mbappe that turned the whole game on its head.

After Mbappe scored his first penalty and then the sensation volley a minute later, France started to play and it was Argentina on the back foot. There was a wild finish to normal time that looked like it would be France stealing the win, because the players that had come on mixed with the players that had started looked so focused and believed they would win this game. But Argentina held on and there were good chances at both ends in the dying minutes, and there could have been more cards given.

In extra time the game looked to be over yet again when Messi’s rebound went over the line, but more dramatic scenes were on the way when the referee gave a penalty. Mbappe is still just 23 years old but he was as cold as ice when he stepped up to take that penalty in the last few minutes of extra time. His nation held the breathe and the ball rippled the net, making Mbappe the first player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final since 1966. He is still so young but has the confidence to stand behind the ball in a World Cup final like he does it every day.

When it went to penalties it felt like anything could happen. Messi scored his penalty and at that point he had done all he could and would have no further impact on the result. Mbappe also converted to complete a perfect game, he really couldn’t have done anything more, but it was the goalkeeping heroics of Martinez that secured victory for Argentina.

This is the cherry on top of Messi’s amazing career, and for many this will end the debate around him being the greatest of all time.

We know that Mbappe will be back and he will be more motivated than ever after playing so well but losing out, but for now it is Messi’s moment after being part of a team that had the mindset of doing whatever it took, combined with top class talent. #mmlove