The 2022 World Cup: Messi's Lusail Trophy and Mbappé's Final Hat-Trick

The 2022 World Cup: a brief history

The 2022 World Cup was the twenty-second edition of the FIFA tournament, held in Qatar between 20 November and 18 December 2022. Argentina beat France 4-2 on penalties at the Lusail Stadium on 18 December 2022, after a 3-3 draw across 120 minutes that has been widely described as the most-acclaimed single World Cup final of the modern era. Lionel Messi scored twice in the final and was named Player of the Tournament; Kylian Mbappé scored a hat-trick (only the third such individual feat in a World Cup final after Geoff Hurst 1966 and Just Fontaine''s third-place 1958 four). The tournament marked Argentina''s third World Cup, completing Messi''s redemption arc 36 years after Maradona''s 1986 trophy.

The host context: the Middle East and the November tournament

FIFA awarded the 2022 World Cup to Qatar in 2010, in the same vote that produced the 2018 award to Russia. The decision was politically and commercially controversial from the outset: Qatar''s climate (with summer temperatures requiring the tournament to be moved to November and December), the absence of a developed footballing infrastructure, and ongoing investigations into the bid process all produced sustained criticism. The 2022 finals became the first November-December World Cup, sitting in the middle of the European club season and producing significant scheduling complications.

Eight stadiums were used in five Qatari cities (Lusail, Doha, Al Khor, Al Rayyan and Al Wakrah). Seven of the venues were newly constructed; the Khalifa International Stadium was substantially renovated. The compact tournament geography meant that Qatar was the first World Cup at which spectators could realistically attend two matches in a single day.

Pre-tournament controversy was substantial. Migrant worker conditions in the construction of the venues, FIFA''s late-stage requirements regarding alcohol sales, and disputes over LGBTQ+ rights produced diplomatic tensions across the build-up. Beer-selling restrictions were announced two days before the tournament started; the OneLove armband campaign by European captains was effectively banned by FIFA''s threat of sporting sanctions on the morning of England''s opening match.

The Saudi Arabia opening shock

The opening match for Argentina was played at the Lusail Stadium on 22 November 2022, against Saudi Arabia. Lionel Messi opened the scoring with a 10th-minute penalty. Saudi Arabia replied through Saleh Al-Shehri (48th minute) and Salem Al-Dawsari (53rd minute) to take a 2-1 lead. They held on through 14 minutes of stoppage time. Argentina lost 2-1 in one of the great World Cup upsets, ending a 36-match unbeaten run.

The result placed Argentina in difficult position from the opening match. Coach Lionel Scaloni reorganised the squad and the team beat Mexico 2-0 (Messi and Enzo Fernández scoring) and Poland 2-0 to top the group. The 2022 campaign''s opening shock has been retrospectively described as the foundation of the squad''s subsequent cohesion: the team played every subsequent match in must-win mode.

Morocco''s run

Morocco produced one of the great single tournament runs in World Cup history. The squad, coached by Walid Regragui (who had taken over from Vahid Halilhodžić less than three months before the tournament), beat Belgium 2-0 in the group stage, drew with Croatia and topped Group F ahead of the 2018 finalists. The round of 16 against Spain produced a 0-0 draw and a 3-0 penalty shootout win, with goalkeeper Yassine Bounou saving twice. The quarter-final against Portugal at Al Thumama Stadium ended in a 1-0 Moroccan win, with Youssef En-Nesyri''s 42nd-minute header settling the match. Morocco became the first African and first Arab nation to reach a World Cup semi-final.

The semi-final against France ended 2-0 (Theo Hernández and Randal Kolo Muani scoring). The third-place playoff against Croatia ended 2-1. Morocco finished fourth, equalling the African continental best (Cameroon 1990, Senegal 2002, Ghana 2010 had all reached the quarter-finals).

The knockout stages

The round of 16 produced an Argentina win over Australia (2-1, with Messi''s round-of-16 first goal of his career), a French win over Poland (3-1), the Dutch over the United States (3-1), and Brazil 4-1 over South Korea (Brazil''s last World Cup match before crashing out to Croatia in the quarter-final on penalties).

The quarter-finals included Croatia''s extraordinary 1-1 (4-2 on penalties) win over Brazil at the Education City Stadium. Brazil led with 1-0 from a Neymar 105th-minute extra-time strike before Bruno Petković equalised in the 117th minute. The shootout produced misses from Rodrygo and Marquinhos. France beat England 2-1 with Aurélien Tchouaméni and Olivier Giroud scoring; Harry Kane missed a 84th-minute equalising penalty.

The final and the hat-trick

The final, played at the Lusail Stadium on 18 December 2022 in front of 88,966 spectators, has been described as the greatest single World Cup final ever played. Lionel Messi opened the scoring with a 23rd-minute penalty. Ángel Di María added the second in the 36th minute with a low finish from a flowing team move. France struggled through the first 78 minutes; Mbappé had not had a single shot on target.

The closing 15 minutes of normal time produced two Mbappé goals in 97 seconds: an 80th-minute penalty after a contested foul on Randal Kolo Muani, and an 81st-minute volley from a Marcus Thuram cross. The match went to extra time at 2-2.

Extra time produced two more goals. Messi scored in the 108th minute with a Lautaro Martínez follow-up. Mbappé equalised at 3-3 in the 118th minute with a penalty after a contested handball, completing his hat-trick. The match went to penalties at 3-3.

The shootout produced misses from Kingsley Coman and Aurélien Tchouaméni. Messi, Paulo Dybala, Leandro Paredes and Gonzalo Montiel all converted for Argentina. The final converted penalty (Montiel) sealed Argentina''s third World Cup. Messi lifted the trophy at age 35, completing the Argentine redemption arc 36 years after Maradona''s 1986 trophy.

Lasting figures

Lionel Messi was named the 2022 Golden Ball winner, his second World Cup Golden Ball, after the 2014 award. The trophy completed his career''s major-honours collection: La Liga (10), Champions League (4), Ligue 1 (2 with PSG), MLS Cup (with Inter Miami), Olympic gold (2008), Copa América (2021, 2024), and the World Cup. He continues to play with Argentina through the 2026 cycle.

Kylian Mbappé''s hat-trick in the final has been the closing image of his 2022 tournament. He won the Golden Boot with eight goals, becoming the third player (after Just Fontaine 1958 and Geoff Hurst 1966) to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final. His subsequent move from PSG to Real Madrid in 2024 has produced his current club platform.

Lionel Scaloni, the Argentine head coach, was 44 years old at the start of the tournament, the youngest World Cup-winning coach in history. He had been a Scaloneta squad selector and assistant before taking over the senior role in 2018. The 2022 trophy and 2024 Copa América win have made him the most successful Argentine coach since Carlos Bilardo.

Walid Regragui, the Moroccan head coach, took over the squad three months before the tournament and produced the most successful Arab and African nation tournament run in World Cup history. He continues to lead Morocco through the 2025 AFCON and the 2026 World Cup, where the country are drawn in Group C alongside Brazil, Scotland and Haiti.

Lionel Messi's redemption and Argentina's third World Cup

Argentina's 2022 victory provided Lionel Messi with his only World Cup trophy. After three previous final defeats (2014, 2012 Copa América, others), Messi finally achieved the one major international trophy that had eluded his career. His performances in the knockout stages were exceptional, and his leadership in the dressing room (at age 35) was widely praised. The victory over France in the final on penalties represented a triumph of collective spirit and tactical discipline under coach Lionel Scaloni.

Gonzalo Montiel's winning penalty in the shootout provided a dramatic conclusion. Argentina's victory was their third World Cup (after 1978 and 1986), establishing them as one of only four nations to win the trophy three times or more.

Mbappé's attacking genius and France's near-miss

Kylian Mbappé finished the 2022 tournament with eight goals, equalling the single-tournament scoring record (alongside Gerd Müller, Just Fontaine and others). His performances, particularly in the final and in the semi-final against Morocco, established him as one of the outstanding forwards of the modern era. The fact that France reached the final despite the challenge of retaining the trophy in the post-tournament year (2022) demonstrated the quality of the squad.

Reading on

For more on Argentina''s broader World Cup record, see our team-history piece on Argentina at the World Cup. The World Cup history hub covers every tournament from 1930 to 2026.