The South American champions added the biggest trophy in world football to their collection after an exhilarating evening in Qatar
Former Nigeria international Mutiu Adepoju has praised Argentina for their never-say-die attitude which was crucial to lifting the 2022 FIFA World Cup trophy on Sunday evening.
Argentina and France played out one of the most entertaining matches in a World Cup final before La Albiceleste triumphed 4-2 on penalties in Qatar.
A lot of credit to France and especially Kylian Mbappe who scored twice in the closing stages of the match to drag Les Bleus back on levelled terms after Lionel Messi had inspired Argentina to take a two-goal lead even before halftime.
In the second period of extra-time, Messi once again scored for Argentina to make it 3-2 but France through tournament top scorer Mbappe – for his hat-trick – somehow found a late equaliser to force the match to penalties.
Argentina won the deciding shootout to claim their third World Cup title and hand Messi his first of a trophy-laden career.
The Albiceleste’s mentality to keep up their positivity despite France’s remarkable doggedness and stunning comeback impressed 1994 Africa Cup of Nations winner Mutiu Adepoju.
And the former Super Eagles midfielder was full of praise for the world champions after the encounter.
“The game was very explosive from start to finish and both teams had superb performances,” Adepoju told the Punch.
“But Argentina made the World Cup theirs with a mindset. It is not easy to allow a two-goal lead to slip away and still manage to keep your character until the last moments of the game.”
Argentina won the FIFA World Cup in 1978 and 1986 making the 2022 triumph the country’s third in history.
