The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 concluded on December 18 with Argentina winning their third title overall and first since 1986. Led by Golden Ball winner Lionel Messi, Argentina emerged victorious from a field of 32 teams by defeating defending champion France 4-3 in the finals. Croatia defeated Morocco in the third-place game the day prior.
Below is more information about Argentina as well as a closer look at each of the other three semi-finalists.
1. Argentina – First Title since 1986
Argentina survived an early scare in the Group Stage as their lost 2-1 to Saudi Arabia in their first match. Argentina hadn’t lost in 36 consecutive matches entering the World Cup and Saudi Arabia was the second-lowest ranked team in the tournament. The victory was celebrated as a point of national pride in Saudi Arabia with King Salman declaring the following day a public holiday.
Following the upset loss, Argentina scored consecutive 2-0 victories over Mexico and Poland to earn first place in Group C. They defeated Australia 2-1 in the Round of 16 and beat the Netherlands in penalty kicks in the quarterfinals and scored a 3-0 victory over Croatia in the semi-finals. Their back-and-forth finals victory over France is already considered one of the greatest World Cup matches of all-time.
Argentina took a 2-0 lead into the second half and maintained that advantage until French striker Kylian Mbappe scored a pair of goals, one of which was a penalty kick, in less than two minutes. After a scoreless 15-minute first period in extra time, Messi scored with about 10 minutes left in the match to give Argentina the 3-2 lead, but again Mbappe connected on a penalty to extend the match into penalty kicks, where the South American nation won 4-2.
Messi, who won the Golden Ball as the best player in the tournament, scored seven goals and assisted on three others at the World Cup and cemented his legacy as one of the greatest footballers of all-time. Messi has also won 10 Spanish titles with Barcelona and a record seven Ballons d’Or.
Argentina last won the World Cup in 1986 and won for the first time in 1978. They were the runner-up in 2014, 1990, and 1930.
2. France – Foiled in Attempt to Be Repeat Champions
While he didn’t win the ultimate team prize for France, Mbappe also established himself as one of the best strikers in the world in Qatar. He scored each of France’s three goals in the final and won the Golden Boot as the tournament’s top scorer with eight goals.
“We are witnessing a big legend in the making,” French fan Thierry Tiquant said to Al Jazeera. “We did not deserve to lose. Mbappe did not deserve to lose. That performance will be remembered forever.”
Mbappe, 23, won the World Cup with France in 2018 and was the youngest player to ever score in a World Cup final since Pele in 1958. He had four goals in 2018 and, after Qatar 2022, is just five goals away from breaking the all-time record for most goals in the World Cup. He’ll only be 27 years old at the 2026 World Cup.
France won Group D in Qatar with wins over Australia and Denmark. In the Knockout Stage, they defeated Poland, England, and Morocco en route to the final.
3. Croatia – A Strong Third-Place Game
Croatia, which lost to France 4-2 in the final of the 2018 World Cup, finished second behind Morocco in Group F with five points, one more than third-place Belgium. They played both Morocco and Belgium to scoreless draws and defeated Canada 4-1 in the Group Stage.
Croatia reached the semi-finals with Knockout Stage victories over Japan and Brazil in the Round of 16 and quarterfinals, respectively. Neymar scored late in extra time to give Brazil a 1-0 lead in the quarterfinals, but Croatia’s Bruno Petkovic tied the game in the 117th minute on a hard shot deflected into the back of the net. Croatia won 4-2 in penalty kicks.
Croatia lost 3-0 to Argentina in the semifinals, but they ended the tournament with a 2-1 victory over Morocco in the third-place game. With the victory, the country earned their third World Cup medal since 1998. Joško Gvardiol scored the opening goal seven minutes into the match on a beautiful header from a free kick set piece. Mislav Oršić scored the game-winning goal in the 42nd minute.
4. Morocco – Makes History for Africa
Morocco may not have won a medal in Qatar, but they made history by becoming the first African nation to make it to a World Cup semi-final. Morocco faced a tough test to get out of Group F, which featured 2018 finalist Croatia and world No. 2-ranked Belgium, but they won the group with seven points. After a scoreless draw against Croatia, they beat Belgium 2-0 and Canada 2-1 to close out the Group Stage.
Morocco beat Spain 3-0 on penalty kicks following a full-time scoreless draw in the Round of 16 and advanced to the semi-finals with a 1-0 victory over Portugal. They lost 2-0 to France in the semi-final.