The Final (and 3rd/4th playoff)

3/4 on Sunday morning at 4am.
Final Monday morning at 4am

Congratulations to Argentina and of course Messi.

Probably the greatest World Cup final to have ever been played. Unbelievable drama in both normal and extra time.

Fittingly the best player to have ever played the game will finally get his hands on the World Cup.

Best day of my young life.. I suffered through heart breaks in 98, 2002, 06, 2010, losing 2014 final and the terrible Copa America finals losses to Chile, years of self imploding and internal politics, but we did it.. from messi, to Dibu Martinez, to Molina to Armani… this is a team of warriors, and we might no be everyone’s favourites due to our play style, we don’t give a damn. WE ARE THE WORLD CHAMPIONS GOOD DAMNIT

Being a final, that was probably the greatest game of all time. What an epic. Messi always felt destined to win and the contrast between his and Ronaldo's contributions in this tournament couldn't have been more stark.

Feel for Mbappe though. Joins Hurst as a hattrick scorer in a final and one of only a handful to score in 2 finals. Great hit for the 2nd goal.

So happy for Argentina. They played France off the park for the first 70 mins. De Maria scored one of the greatest goals in WC history. Then the French subs really made a difference and Mbappe was amazing. That was possibly the best WC final of all time. Amazing amazing game! Buenos Aires will be going off!

Definitely feeling for Mbappe.  To score a hatty in the final, get the golden boot, but not take the win must be incredibly conflicting feelings.

Banger of a match though.

And just like that, we got to see two of the biggest teams produce one of the best world cup games ever... just like I was asking for! ;)

Amazing game. Still struggling understand how poor france were for 70mins and then to turn it on like they did. And potentially unpopular opinion but despite scoring a hatty, Mbappe was rarely in the game. Great 2nd goal though, but by in large the Argies had him figured out. Starting Di Maria was also an awesome tactical move which allowed the focal point to move from Messi to him. 
Oh and Em Martinez’s golden glove celebration was off the charts. 

Couple of things that will live long in the memory: the second Argentina goal which was like the most perfect encapsulation ever of football as a team game. It was beautiful watching that unfold. 

Also the fantastic Martinez save with his outstretched boot in the last seconds of extra time, which itself led to the other Martinez blowing the chance to head home at the French end. Might have been a nicer, more fitting end if he'd buried that and saved us the brutality of the penalty shootout but that's just quibbling. 

Referee Marciniak was excellent too. No controversies, no VAR weirdness, just a truly great World Cup final.

for 70 mins Argentina kept Griezeman and Mbappe quiet, the Frewnch midfield saw none of the ball and the French were largely kept in theor own half - brilliant by the Argies. Mbappe's class is always dangerous though, all it took was the pen and 90 seconds later he was scoring again. The french looked dead and buried, exhasted even - maybe that was virus related, but once they were on even terms the fans woke up and it was all on.

Great game, Argies deserved the win, but the fans got a fantastic final. Ignoiring all the human rights issues - like we do for every world cup - and it was a very fun tournament.

Epic World Cup overall. Looking forward to getting some sleep now! These things are always a bit rough being on this side of the world. Managed to watch almost every game. For the final group stage games I mainly watched the one I thought was most interesting (ie, both teams still playing to get through) on my TV while having the other one playing on my phone to keep checking in. Only game I missed entirely was Senegal-Qatar as had a visitor staying and couldn't get away with watching all 4 games that day. Spain-Costa Rica I gave up on at half time - was watching delayed so moved onto the next game with that one over as a contest.

For the last couple of World Cups I remember catching buses/trains at ridiculous times to be able watch games in town (generally the Old Bailey or Backbencher were most convenient) before work. Now that working from home is a thing it's been easier to manage!

As good as it was I seem to remember a few great WC finals
1994 ----- Brazil v Italy
2006 ---- France v Italy
1974 ----- West Germany v Netherlands
1986 ----- Argentina v West Germany.
1970 ----- Brazil v Italy
1966 ---- England v West Germany.
Everyone has an opinion and many either can't remember, never watched or were not around.

The 1994 final was a horrible watch.
I enjoyed Italy's 3-1 win over West Germany in 1982.

But today's final would have to be right up there. Maybe the best, helped by the GOAT's fairytale script.

kwlap

Amazing game. Still struggling understand how poor france were for 70mins and then to turn it on like they did. And potentially unpopular opinion but despite scoring a hatty, Mbappe was rarely in the game. Great 2nd goal though, but by in large the Argies had him figured out. Starting Di Maria was also an awesome tactical move which allowed the focal point to move from Messi to him. 
Oh and Em Martinez’s golden glove celebration was off the charts. 

It wasn’t until Camavinga came on France started showing anything. Then for some odd reason he didn’t get on the ball again until later on in extra time. 
Rumors of a virus in the French camp? Griezman looked like a different player to what he’d been. 

Leggy

As good as it was I seem to remember a few great WC finals
1994 ----- Brazil v Italy
2006 ---- France v Italy
1974 ----- West Germany v Netherlands
1986 ----- Argentina v West Germany.
1970 ----- Brazil v Italy
1966 ---- England v West Germany.
Everyone has an opinion and many either can't remember, never watched or were not around.

The only good thing about 1994 final was the penalty shootout

ajc28

Epic World Cup overall. Looking forward to getting some sleep now! These things are always a bit rough being on this side of the world. Managed to watch almost every game. For the final group stage games I mainly watched the one I thought was most interesting (ie, both teams still playing to get through) on my TV while having the other one playing on my phone to keep checking in. Only game I missed entirely was Senegal-Qatar as had a visitor staying and couldn't get away with watching all 4 games that day. Spain-Costa Rica I gave up on at half time - was watching delayed so moved onto the next game with that one over as a contest.

For the last couple of World Cups I remember catching buses/trains at ridiculous times to be able watch games in town (generally the Old Bailey or Backbencher were most convenient) before work. Now that working from home is a thing it's been easier to manage!

 
I remember the last WC France-Croatia final more interesting, lot of goals, both teams had a go and just watching Modric play was master class, he was insane in that tournament.

This one was interesting because of the late drama and Messi's last chance to win it. The pen shoot out was not really exciting. France spoiled the party with a disappointing performance.

For me personally the greatest finals are the ones where my country won.

World Cup feels weird to me if neither Italy or Brazil are at least in the semifinals.