JAKARTA - Argentina temporarily took a 2-0 lead over France in the World Cup final which took place at the Lusail Stadium, Doha, Sunday night.
"The Argentine goal was created by Lionel Messi from the penalty spot in the 23rd minute and Angel Di Maria in the 36th minute," FIFA notes, quoted via Antara.
Played as a starter for the first time since the group stage, Di Maria became the motor of Argentina's attack from the left wing when coach Lionel Scaloni used the formation of three attackers equipped by Julian Alvarez and Lionel Messi.
From the start, Albiceleste did not waste time and immediately played attacking.
When the game had only been running for 23 minutes, Argentina was awarded a penalty when Di Maria, who tricked Ousmane Dembele with his gun, stabbed from the left but was dropped in a restricted area by the French forward.
Messi successfully carried out his duties as executioner and netted the ball to the right side of Hugo Lloris' goal.
With this goal, Messi listed his name as the first player in World Cup history to score in the group stage, last 16, to the final in one edition of the tournament.
France tried to make a quick response, but they struggled to keep the ball under control. Mbappe tried to stab from the left but was repeatedly broken by Molina.
Didier Deschamps' squad has not even recorded a shot attempt before halftime as Argentina dominated with six attempts, three of which led to the goal.
Deschamps looked unhappy with France's blunt front line and decided to withdraw Dembele and Olivier Giroud before including Randal Kolo Muani and Marcus Thuram, both of whom appeared as supersubs during the semifinal match against Morocco, while Mbappe shifted to the center.
After giving an additional seven minutes, Polish Referee Szymon Marciniak ended the first half who witnessed Argentina's ferocity at a time when France was quite overwhelmed.
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