Brilliant Messi emulates Maradona to finally win World Cup for Argentina

Messi finally crowned his record-breaking career by winning football's biggest prize with a performance that will go down in World Cup history, scoring a first-half penalty and netting again in extra time.

France had fought back from 2-0 down as Kylian Mbappe scored twice to equalise and force extra time in a pulsating match.

Messi seemed to have decided the match in extra time with his second goal of the game before Mbappe completed only the second World Cup final hat-trick to bring the score to 3-3 and force penalties.

Gonzalo Montiel swept home the decisive penalty to win the shootout 4-2 for Argentina - but this was Messi's moment.

He had tasted bitter defeat in the 2014 final against Germany but in his fifth and final World Cup, the 35-year-old finally emulated Argentina idol Diego Maradona by leading his nation to World Cup glory for the first time since Maradona's victory in Mexico City in 1986.

Tens of thousands of blue and white-shirted Argentina fans rose to salute Messi as he told them "we're champions of the world!" on the stadium microphone.

Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez said the victory was "destiny".

Martinez, 30, who saved from Kingsley Coman in the shootout, said: "It was a very complicated match, they came back to equalise in the game but it was our destiny to suffer.

"All that I have dreamed of has been achieved. I have no words for it. I was calm during the penalty shoot-out, and everything went as we wanted."