Lionel Messi has led Argentina to World Cup glory after beating France on penalties in one of the most thrilling climaxes in the tournament’s history.

Argentina looked to have thrown the trophy away, after Kylian Mbappe scored twice in the last 10 minutes to take the tie into extra time, after a Messi penalty and a sweeping finish from Angel di Maria had seen the Argentines 2-0 up in the first half.

Messi restored their lead in the extra period, before Mbappe stunned the South Americans again from the penalty spot to force a shootout with his third – the first hat-trick in a World Cup final since 1966.

But Kingsley Coman had his penalty saved by Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano MArtinez, and Aurelien Tchouameni then missed the target, allowing Gonzalo Montiel fire home the winner and spark incredible scenes.

More to follow…

–BBC

In other news – The reason why TT Mbha and Somizi are no longer best friends

Mzansi media personality and businessman, Somizi Mhlongo and TT Mbha were once joined on the hip but it seems that their friendship which was once everyone’s envy has gone sour and TT Mbha says that he does not know what changed.

According to a local publication, the Mzansi Cribs host took to his Instagram in a since-deleted post and said, “My wife just sent me this pic from two years ago today and I honestly didn’t know how to respond to her because so much has changed in the past two years. Learn More

Croatia showed their class once more by clinching their third top-three finish at the World Cup with a play-off victory over history-makers Morocco.

Zlatko Dalic’s side were runners-up to France four years ago and confirmed their status as one of the elite footballing nations with another third-place finish to go alongside that secured in their competition debut in 1998.

In a frantic opening, Josko Gvardiol gave Croatia the lead on seven minutes with a superb diving header but Achraf Dari levelled just two minutes later by nodding home from close range.

Mislav Orsic curled in a sumptuous second for Croatia via the post three minutes before half-time and struck a thumping, deflected drive into the side-netting after the break.

The second half could not match the energy of a thrilling opening period and Morocco failed to find an equaliser as a fruitful campaign ended in back-to-back defeats.

Modric makes Croatia tick again
It’s the game no team wants to be involved in but in the end Croatia, a country with a population under 4 million, will be highly satisfied with another outstanding showing on the global stage.

At the heart of the team is influential skipper Luka Modric, running the show once again at the age of 37 on his 162nd cap, though this could well be his last appearance at a World Cup.

Croatia’s opener was straight off the training ground, Ivan Perisic flicking on a free-kick which was latched on to by Gvardiol’s brilliant finish, flying through the air to head into the far corner.

But Morocco levelled immediately courtesy of Dari, a looping ball falling into his path to convert from a few yards out and spark rowdy celebrations in the stands.

Teenage midfielder Bilal El Khannouss, making his Morocco debut at 18, showed confident touches but was culpable for Croatia’s second goal, giving the ball away deep in his own half and ultimately handing over victory.

Marko Livaja laid the ball off for Orsic, who curled a glorious first time finish past the despairing reach of goalkeeper Yassine Bounou and into the net via the post.

Sevilla striker Youssef En-Nesyri had Morocco’s best chances for an equaliser, forcing knockout round penalty hero Dominik Livakovic into a sharp save from close range and heading on to the roof of the net in injury time.

Walid Regragui’s men made history by becoming the first African side to reach the semi-finals and their passionate players and supporters have lit up this tournament.

Their following sang and banged their drum for the entirety of this game and, despite being beaten in the last four by defending champions France and here by Croatia, they will look back on their achievements at this tournament with fond memories.

-BBC