Lionel Messi hopes to continue Argentina career after 'amazing' World Cup triumph

Captain leads the way as South Americans defeat France in one of the greatest finals in history

Lionel Messi holds up the trophy after Argentina defeated France on penalties in the World Cup final at Lusail Stadium in Qatar, on Sunday, December 18, 2022. AP

Argentina's Lionel Messi celebrates with teammates after beating France. AP

France's Kylian Mbappe walks past the trophy at the end of the match. AP

Argentina's Lionel Messi holds up the Golden Ball award for best player of the tournament. AP

Argentina celebrate victory at Lusail Stadium. Getty

Lionel Messi of Argentina kisses the trophy after beating France 4-2 on penalties. EPA

Argentina celebrate victory. AP

Argentina captain Lionel Messi celebrates with World Cup trophy. PA

Kylian Mbappe of France with his Golden Boot award for finishing as the tournament's top scorer. EPA

Argentina players celebrate after winning the World Cup final penalty shoot-out against France. Getty

Argentina players celebrate victory. Getty

Argentina's Lautaro Martinez and Lionel Messi celebrate after winning the World Cup. Reuters

Argentina's Leandro Paredes celebrates scoring the winning penalty against France. Getty

Argentina's Leandro Paredes celebrates scoring during the penalty shoot-out against France. Reuters

Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez saves from Kingsley Coman of France in the penalty shoot-out. Getty

Lionel Messi scores for Argentina in the penalty shoot-out. Getty

Emiliano Martinez of Argentina celebrates after saving Kingsley Coman's penalty. Getty

Kylian Mbappe completes his hat-trick from the spot to make it 3-3. Getty

Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring his, and France's, third goal. Getty

Lionel Messi scores Argentina's third goal. Getty

Lionel Messi celebrates scoring Argentina's third goal. Getty

Lionel Messi scores Argentina's third goal. Reuters

Lionel Messi celebrates scoring Argentina's third goal. PA

Argentina's Lionel Messi goes for a high challenge on Eduardo Camavinga of France. Getty

Lionel Messi celebrates with teammates after scoring Argentina's third. AFP

Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez is beaten by the penalty of France's Kylian Mbappe. Getty

Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring France's second goal. PA

Argentina's Nicolas Otamendi fouls Randal Kolo Muani of France giving away a penalty. Getty

Kylian Mbappe volleys home France's second goal. Getty

Argentina attacker Angel Di Maria skips past the challenge of France's Antoine Griezmann. PA

Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring the first France goal. Getty

Kylian Mbappe scores France's first goal from the penalty spot. Reuters

Angel Di Maria celebrates scoring Argentina's second goal. Reuters

Argentina's Lionel Messi sends France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris the wrong way from the spot. Getty

France's Kylian Mbappe with Lionel Messi of Argentina. Getty

Angel Di Maria scores for Argentina in the first-half. Getty

France's Antoine Griezmann, Olivier Giroud and Adrien Rabiot after Argentina made it 2-0. PA

Argentina's Angel Di Maria celebrates after scoring with France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris on his knees. Reuters

Argentina's Nicolas Tagliafico and Randal Kolo Muani fight for the ball. AP

Angel Di Maria celebrates after scoring for Argentina. Getty

Lionel Messi is mobbed by Argentina teammates after scoring. Getty

France's Jules Kounde heads the ball. AP

Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring for Argentina. Getty

Argentina attacker Angel Di Maria earns a penalty after going down under the challenge of France's Ousmane Dembele. Getty

France's Olivier Giroud shakes hands with manager Didier Deschamps after being substituted in the first half. PA

Lionel Messi scores from the spot for Argentina. PA

Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring a first-half penalty for Argentina. Getty

France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris saves from Argentina's Julian Alvarez. AP

France manager Didier Deschamps, left, with his Argentina counterpart Lionel Scaloni before the game. AP

Argentina players before the match. AP

France players before the match. Getty

Lionel Messi has promised to continue his international career after he led Argentina, finally, to World Cup glory.

The national team captain, 35, realised a long-held ambition on Sunday night at the Lusail Stadium north of Doha, scoring twice as Argentina eventually saw off reigning champions France on penalties.

The match, surely to go down as one of the greatest finals in history, had finished 2-2 in normal time – Argentina were 2-0 up until the 80th minute – and then 3-3 in extra-time.

Messi’s 108th-minute goal appeared to have sealed it, before Kylian Mbappe completed his hat-trick on the night to force the shoot-out. Argentina went on to win 4-2 on penalties.

Messi, who had after the semi-final triumph against Croatia said this would be his final World Cup, told Argentine TV following the win on Sunday: "I want to keep experiencing a few more matches as world champion. Obviously I would like to end my career with this - I cannot ask for more.

"My career is nearly over because these are my last years."

Messi, who has won almost every other major trophy – last year, he captained Argentina to the Copa America crown – seemed destined to miss out on the game’s greatest prize.

He lost the final to Germany in 2014, despite being named player of that tournament.

Argentina v France ratings

On Sunday, after collecting another award for best player, he said: "It's crazy that it happened at the time it happened, but it's amazing.

"It's amazing that it could end this way. I said previously that God was going to grant me this and, I don't know why, but I felt it was going to be this time."

On the match, which forged a similar path to Argentina’s quarter-final victory against the Netherlands, also on penalties, Messi said: "It was a very strange match, the same as the other one against the Netherlands, and then when we went ahead in extra-time, it happened again.”

Meanwhile, Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni would not entirely rule out Messi representing his country at another World Cup. Messi will be 38 by the time the tournament kicks off in the US, Canada and Mexico in the summer of 2026; he will turn 39 during it.

“First of all, we need to save him a spot for the next World Cup 2026," Scaloni said. "If he wants to keep playing, he’ll be with us. I think that he’s more than entitled to decide whether he wants to keep playing for Argentina or not, or what he wants to do with his career.

“It’s such a huge pleasure for us to coach him and his teammates. Everything that he meets with his teammates is something unparalleled, something I’ve never seen before. A player, a person who gives so much to his teammates.”