Meme fest explodes after Mbappe's hat-trick takes Argentina vs France World Cup 2022 final down to the wire
Kylian Mbappe's hat-trick at the Qatar World Cup 2022 final helped the defending champions France to tie the game against Argentina, sending football enthusiasts into a tizzy.
FollowArgentina looked almost set to clinch the Qatar World Cup 2022, but France's Kylian Mbappe had other plans. The 23-year-old sensation scored a sensational hat-trick to tie the grand finale 3-3 as the game headed for a penalty shootout at Doha's Lusail Stadium on Sunday.
Argentina got off to the better start of the two teams as Messi attempted to direct play from his regular spot behind Julian Alvarez. The first attempt of the day came from Alexis Mac Allister, whose 25-yard shot went straight to Hugo Lloris's neck.
France's first 15 minutes were tremendously tense as Didier Deschamps' team struggled to make the most of its attacking talents. And in the 22nd minute, when Ousmane Dembélé tripped Angel Di Maria inside the penalty area, that anxiety was evident.Â
Up stepped the iconic Argentinian Messi, with the PSG forward placing it into the bottom corner for the opening goal, leaving no chance for Lloris to save the strike. Moments later, Di Maria completed a brilliant counterattack, doubling Argentina's advantage in the grand finale. At half-time, the scores were Argentina 2 - France 0.
France had to take action, but Deschamps chose to go all-out after 40 minutes by shocking everyone by replacing Giroud and Dembélé.
As the second half began, Lionel Scaloni's team was once more in control, with Les Bleus finding it challenging to contain Messi and Di Maria.
On the 50th minute of play, France received their first corner of the match, but Emi Martinez handled the threat perfectly. But the Albiceleste weren't content to sit back and relax; Lloris expertly stopped Alvarez's low shot.
With 25 minutes to go, France finally started to get into this match. Kolo Muani's header missed the post after Antoine Griezmann's excellent pass from the left sailed through the box.
After 78 minutes, France managed to get their first shot on goal, but Mbappé's attempt was easily blocked. With ten minutes left, though, Kolo Muani was brought down by Otamendi inside the area, giving Les Bleus a chance to win.
Mbappé scored from the penalty spot as his penalty dribbled past Martinez and into the far bottom corner. The outcome of this match then changed dramatically when the PSG sensation gained some space inside the box and scorched a beautiful shot past Martinez to equalise.
In the seventh minute of added time, Messi had a golden opportunity to score the game-winning goal, but Lloris deflected his shot over the crossbar. Argentina had a chance to score late in the first half of extra time, but Dayot Upamecano expertly stopped Lautaro Martinez's shot.
But with 10 minutes left to go, Messi scored what appeared to be the game-winning goal by bundling over from close range. However, with four minutes remaining in the game, France was awarded a second penalty, which Mbappe converted to complete his hat-trick.
A meme fest exploded on Twitter following Mbappe's sensational hat-trick against Argentina at the Qatar World Cup 2022 finals.
Here's a look at how France fans reacted to the PSG star's mind-blowing show:
