World Cup 2022 news LIVE: Argentina and Lionel Messi return home after final triumph vs France

Emiliano Martinez added to his impressive penalty record as Argentina won a World Cup final shootout against France on Sunday night.

The Aston Villa keeper has won four successive shootouts with club and country, with his last defeat coming in 2019 when he was with Arsenal.

Argentina beat both the Netherlands and France on penalties to seal their World Cup triumph, with Martinez to the fore.

He saved from Virgil van Dijk and Steven Berghuis against the Dutch, marking the second save with a jig of delight, and also denied France’s Kingsley Coman.

Here is an in-depth look at Martinez’s penalty-saving talents:

The Qatar World Cup final played out in front of thousands of empty seats on Sunday, as Argentina took on France at Lusail Stadium.

Despite a significant number of Argentina fans turning up with hopes of seeing Lionel Messi claim the one trophy that has long eluded him, the stadium was not full in time for the opening whistle.

Once the second half began, with Argentina leading defending champions France 2-0 thanks to a Messi penalty and Angel Di Maria strike, the number of empty seats had increased drastically.

Thousands of seats at the 88,966-capacity stadium were empty, and they did not fill out even as the game progressed.

Here is how social-media users reacted:

Football doesn’t always do fairytales. Just ask Harry Kane or Kevin De Bruyne or Cristiano Ronaldo or any of the star players who didn’t get the ending they wanted at the World Cup. But for the greatest of all, the story played out even sweeter than surely he could ever have planned.

In what he said would be his last match on the biggest stage in the sport, Lionel Messi emphatically delivered and finally, at the fifth and final time of asking, won the one trophy he wanted more than any other.

The World Cup concluded in thrilling fashion on Sunday with Argentina’s penalty shootout win against France in the final, and there is little time to draw breath before domestic leagues in Europe and South America return to action.

Here is a look at when some of the World Cup’s star players could be performing for their clubs again:

Lionel Messi has said he is not ready to call time on his international career after Argentina’s victory over France in the World Cup 2022 final.

In the build-up to the competition, it was widely thought that the Qatar tournament could be the Paris Saint-Germain star’s last in an Argentina shirt.

However, Messi told Argentinian TV station TyC Sports: “I love football, it’s what I do. I enjoy being in the national team and want to continue by experiencing a few more games as a world champion.”

Here is a look at some of the breakout stars of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar:

Lionel Messi has shared photos of himself ‘waking up’ with the World Cup trophy, two days after he led Argentina to their first world title in 36 years with a penalty shootout win against France.

The captain posted three photos of him in bed with the iconic trophy on Tuesday, along with the caption, “Buen dia (good morning)!” and a smiley face emoji.

Messi lifted the trophy in Qatar on Sunday after failing to go the distance at four previous editions of the World Cup.

The 35-year-old had come closest to winning the tournament in 2014, when Argentina lost the final 1-0 to Germany in extra time in Brazil. But Messi finally went one better last week, scoring twice in a 3-3 draw with France that was then decided by spot kicks.

Messi scored in the shootout as Argentina claimed their first world title since 1986, when Diego Maradona guided the nation to glory. The 2022 World Cup was the first edition of the tournament to take place since the Argentine icon died in 2020.

A black robe worn by Argentina captain Lionel Messi was given to him as a “mark of honour” as he lifted the World Cup trophy in Qatar.

The bisht – a thin see-through traditional Arab cloak – was placed on Messi by the Emir of Qatar before he joined his euphoric teammates as they celebrated their nail-biting victory over France.

Some viewers and broadcasters, unfamiliar with the garment and its significance, were left baffled but an academic explained that it was Qatar’s way of honouring Messi.

Dr Mustafa Baig, a lecturer in Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter, told the PA news agency that the bisht is a formal robe worn by royalty, dignitaries, grooms on their wedding day, and graduates at graduation ceremonies.

“So only a select few people would actually wear the bisht,” he said.

Angel Di Maria’s influence on Lionel Messi’s path to the moment he lifted the World Cup trophy should not be forgotten. He is an essential part of the story.

Messi’s 35-year journey started on the streets of Rosario and saw him ascend to a place where only the footballing gods reside, carried on the wings of Angel.

Emiliano Martinez, world champion. That might have seemed far-fetched four years ago when he sat in the stands as just another Argentinian fan in Russia, watching France win 4-3 in an epic World Cup knockout game.

There Martinez had told his brother sitting next to him that he would be playing in the next World Cup. It was ambitious to say the least. He was then 25, a back-up at Getafe on his sixth loan from Arsenal; another followed at Reading where his status rose, before an unlikely opportunity opened at Arsenal when Bernd Leno suffered a freak injury.

By 2021 he was Argentina’s No 1 goalkeeper. Soon he was Copa America champion, his saves vital in denying Richarlison and others at the end of a tense final at Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana, the place where Lionel Messi and co had lost the World Cup final in 2014. Martinez was at the heart of their salvation.

Now he has beaten France in the greatest World Cup final of all time – and by extension perhaps the greatest football match. It is some story, some rise.