I had to laugh with Messi's flowing Harry Potter robes for the ceremony though. Hhahahahahahah the Sheikhs were loving it......

so good to see macron upset.... dirty dirty corrupt fucker.

Definite dive.
Argentinian pulled his leg away, Frenchie was expecting contact then left his leg behind him to initiate some contact
Was pretty proud of the ref after that one.

I think some of the pens were soft but none were definite non pens and would be called by other eefs on other days too even if not 100% of the time.

For such a fast pressure game I think he did very well

Mental hey

Great game. Can't wait for Decentric's analysis :)

haha

also hows the difference in pen approach by both of them, Mbappe all power low same sides if I remember right and Messi, short run off, faints makes keeper move casually slides ball opposite to GK.
Sick stuff under the pump by both.

Thanks Davide, I did think that it was simulation/over doing it just wasn't sure.

Greatest World Cup game ever, that was simply extraordinary game to watch.

Argentina were in control for about 75 minutes and then France scored 2 goals in a minute in the 80th minute to take into extra time.

Extra time was drama filled especially in the last few minutes, Martinez made possibly the save of the tournament more bigger than Kuol's chance to deny Kolo Muani the possible winner for France late in extra time and then in penalties Martinez lifted again after hes feats against the dutch to win it again on penalties this time to win the World Cup final.

For Lionel Messi he finally gets the World Cup trophy he fully deserves and finally gets immortality, fully deserved of an wonderful career and for me he's the GOAT now.

For France they were also outstanding too, Killian Mbappe is simply incredible as well hes only 24 but what hes achieved in hes career for France is quite remarkable and he will only get better as age is on he's side to win more world cups and other major trophies.

For all the noise before the World Cup, this tournament has been outstanding on the field I wonder if going to get an winter World Cup again? Because it made for great football.

100% dive Agreed the handball was maybe a touch unlucky but also def a penalty... Ref had a blinder...... very fair in my oppinion.

I've got you mate...

I, as a qualified FFA coach, have examined the ability of the Argentinians to solve football problems using football specific performance criteria, particularly vis-a-vis the main moments involved in the transition from the Ball Possession Opposition phase of play to active Ball Possession. I can see the well honed skills that have developed due to years of practicing tasks involving Perception Decision Execution and solving them using football specific skills that, I might add, are modelled under the FFA Curriculum, for which I am qualified to comment on, being a qualified FFA coach. As such I believe that Argentina were worthy winners as they were rewarded for their proactive rather than reactive football, which was immediately apparent to a qualified coach such as myself.

Also the referee had an outstanding game, it wont be mentioned as much but he made calls along the way especially on Thuram's dive towards end of normal time.

Hahahahaha you're in the milieu?

:w00t::laugh: that was a funny as post eh......

yer Barca forgot none of us have mentioned Martinez's save on Kolo's attempt.
All the rappings Messi richly deserves Martinez any other game would have got MOTM with the pen save as well.

Ref was great. Simulation call bang on and 3 penalty calls none of which required var intervention.

Also took no shit from the players. Contrast that to the ref the night before in the Morocco Croatia game who was a shambles.

The beauty of this comment is I'm not sure if it's a pisstake or an actual quote.

Brilliant.

Martinez's save was just unbelievable. Broke millions of French hearts just like he broke ours. From the way he carried on during the tournament and during the award ceremony he comes across as a total flog but geez he's a good keeper.

https://www.news.com.au/sport/football/world-cup/world-cup-heros-xrated-gesture-divides-in-wild-argentinian-celebrations/news-story/fff31959b5322884b575ab634a9b2b6a

hey what makes you think he's a flog :P
The die hair sides :hehe: talk about backing it up otherwise he'd be a real smuck lol......
Huge diff in skill to Loris thats for sure, makes you wonder why Villa arn't doing better, I'm sure his stocks have gone up and they'll be struggling to keep him through the coming window I'd say.

Here's a good one coming up, Ligue1 resumption, oh the vibes Messi/DiMaria in the change rooms with Mbappe lol......
That young Mac Allister 23yrs, he was everywhere most games, Brighton signed him 2019 and loaned him out since, like wtf.
Plus don't you think its the stangest Argentinian surname :)
De Paul, talk about a bloody streetfighter, on the ground so many times playing the victim game but tireless, kind of bloke you'd have in the trenchs next to you always.

Not saying I care one way or the other but the stuff like throwing the ball away from opposition penalty takers etc is seen by many as bad sportsmanship.

I mean, it is for sure, I just haven't decided if I care.

If you know he is going to do it you should be able to prepare yourself mentally

Frankly I'm not sure why the ref doesn't hold the ball between penalties. Would make sense to me?

That was probably Infantino's idea.

There was a Mac Allister that played against us in the 2 legged 1993 playoff. Thinking that might be his son. Can someone confirm?


Edit. Yep.  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Mac_Allister

Yes, and this son is a much better player than MacAllister snr.

"In addition, I believe that only fully qualified coaches are qualified to comment on the World Cup final."

He was feeling especially Arab 

Hey I see where your coming from but I'm in the don't care - takes all types, you know us wogs have our good players bad sport types and nothing surprise's me from them let alone Uruguayans etcetc, adds to the theatrics at times as long as its not gone OTT.

Ah ok good pick up re Mac Allister Snr, I didn't recall him.

Infatino making sure he had his moment in the spotlight was a bit sickenning, gtfo man and that robe, good he ripped it off quick but shame it was done.

Yeah I agree.
I do think refs should hold the ball between pens though

To be fair I was speaking to a local at the opening ceremony and he was saying the black robes are sort of restricted to important people like the emir and formal occasions so if you think about it like that the Qataris were just honouring Messi by putting that on him.

I guess the equivalent would be if we presented the winning captain with a corked hat and a pair of double pluggers.

Sort of like throwing the opposition keepers notes and water bottle away or dancing like a fool on the goal line to put them off maybe? :P

Yeah I figured something along those line, didnt really mind it too much if Im being honest.... Just seemed funny at the time. Maybe the Australian Womens World Cup the winning captain can wear a possum skin coat and have some indigenous face painting and a sing along?

exactly EDIT-posted that in reference to redmayne comment

I ended up watching a lot more games in this WC than I'd initially expected. Despite the controversy that's existed ever since Sepp Blatter opened that envelope in 2010 announcing Qatar as the hosts, there were more upsets and nail biting contests than I can ever recall seeing at a WC Finals, culminating with this mornings' Final, which is the best Final I've seen and arguably amongst the best games we've seen since the WC began-

It looked like being a memorable occasion for Argentina and Messi, but fairly average as a contest and then (coupled with some key subs) Mbappe went beast-mode in just a few short minutes. Despite the rest of the squads involved, it really felt like a contest between Messi and Mbappe, the established #1 vs the superstar of tomorrow, and watching Kylian at his best gives me renewed hope that his vaunted move to LFC becomes more than just a rumour. To have a player of his quality at Anfield would be an absolute dream.

From the 80th minute to the end of extra time, it was anybody's game and we got to see two of the best players in the world right now at their peak. Truly an amazing contest that typified what we've seen for the past month in Qatar and a fitting sign-off for the whole tournament.