World Cup Final grades: Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe led their teams

The 2022 World Cup came to an end on Sunday, Dec. 18, and Argentina defeated France in a penalty shootout after the game ended 3-3 through overtime.

Lionel Messi was the best player for Argentina, Kylian Mbappe was the best player for France, and PSG can claim them both as two of their own.

The first 90 minutes of playing time finished with the score tied at 2-2. The following 30 minutes of overtime finished 3-3. The penalty shootout (4-2 for Argentina) turned Lionel Messi into the supreme soccer GOAT while leaving Kylian Mbappe out cold.

While the first 80 minutes of the game didn't have a lot to them, the final 40 and the penalties were absolute madness, and ended up building the best final in the history of the World Cup.

Argentina held a 2-0 lead until the 80th, then Mbappe kicked off his hat-trick with a couple of match-drawing goals before the final whistle, and both times scored once more in overtime to make it 3-3 before the final shootout.

Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe were almost perfect at leading Argentina and France respectively in the World Cup final

Kylian Mbappe's hat-trick is just the second one in the history of a World Cup final following Geoff Hurst's four-goal game back in 1966 for England.

Messi's record-setting brace (at least one goal in every single stage of a World Cup tournament) helped Argentina lift the Jules Rimet on Lusail soil.

French newspaper L'Equipe gave Mbappe's performance a grade of 9/10 after his display on Sunday, saying that "Kylian Mbappe is one another level" and that he "can change the development of historic events."

On his pages, Le Parisien haded Mbappe a similar 9/10 grade, with the Ile-de-France newspaper saying that they "hadn't seen Mbappe (play like that) in a long time" and that he "didn't show any doubts during the penalty shootout (Mbappe scored his penalty) although that wasn't enough."

For L'Equipe, Messi was worse than Mbappe, and the French writers, still sour after getting beaten by the South American nation, gave La Pulga a grade of 8/10 without making any comment on his performance.

The grade was understandable considering it comes from a French outlet, although rather dubious after Messi was awarded the player of the match (and the tournament as a whole) trophy when all was said and done.

Messi lifted the PotM award for the fifth time in seven games played in the World Cup leading all players present in Qatar at that.