A tournament which has had plenty of on and off-field drama throughout and leading up to the last month earned a fitting ending. In the final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Argentina overcame France, after a dramatic 120 minutes and a penalty shoot-out.
For much of the fixture, things looked fairly routine for Lionel Scaloni and his team. A penalty from Lionel Messi and a brilliant counter-attack, rounded off by a close-range finish from Angel Di Maria, put Argentina 2-0 up during the first half.
France looked very unlikely to be able to prevent Messi from lifting the trophy, until Kylian Mbappe was able to stamp his name on the final fixture, in the most dramatic fashion.
In the 80th minute, Messi's PSG team-mate converted a penalty of his own. Then, just a minute later, Mbappe produced a stunning volley to pull Didier Deschamps' team level.
In extra-time, the PSG pair exchanged goals - a close range finish for Messi and another penalty for Mbappe. At the end of extra-time, a 3-3 scoreline led to the penalty shoot-out.
Fittingly, Mbappe and Messi were both successful from the opening efforts from the spot; Argentina's three other takers were also flawless. However, Kingsley Coman's saved effort and Aurelien Tchouameni's miss meant that the trophy was heading to South America, for the first time since 2002.
Argentina relive quarter-final and overcome another collapse
There are many parallels which can be drawn from today's fixture, back to Argentina's quarter-final, against Netherlands.
Nine days ago, the eventual tournament winners had suffered a similar collapse - they relinquished a seemingly comfortable two-goal lead, with under ten minutes of regulation time remaining. On that night, Wout Weghorst's eventual equaliser came as the clock ticked past the 100-minute mark.
Just as they did then, Argentina were able to remain mentally strong and not let the obvious, bitter disappointment of losing what seemed destined to be a match-winning advantage.
In contrast to the quarter-final, Messi's 108th minute goal, to put his team 3-2 up during extra-time, provided an additional emotional high, with the crushing blow of the referee awarding France a penalty for Gonzalo Montiel's handball and Mbappe's successful execution of the spot-kick coming so close to the end of the half-hour of extra time.
Considering this, the Argentine players deserve credit for their ability to remain fully focused and execute their penalties to a successful standard. Throughout their two shoot-outs, Argentina converted eight of their nine spot-kicks - more than enough, considering the heroics of the Golden Glove award winner, Emiliano Martinez.
Messi's fantastic tournament earns fairytale ending
Whether this has been the last time that Messi has graced the World Cup stage remains to be seen. If it was, then his performances throughout this tournament have, undoubtedly, earned this happy ending.
After being on the wrong end of World Cup final extra-time heartbreak in 2014, he and his Argentina team were able to see the job through successfully, this time around.
Now, their defeat to Saudi Arabia, to start off Argentina's campaign and put them in serious danger of not qualifying from Group C, seems like a lifetime ago.
In that game, just as in all but one of his team's fixtures, Messi was able to get on the scoresheet. Two goals today ensured that he finished the tournament on a total of seven goals - just one behind the equally brilliant Mbappe.
His goals are just one of the ways in which Messi has been a crucial presence for his team. The forward created seven big chances and earned three assists during the tournament, producing plenty of moments of brilliance, akin to those which we have become so used to seeing from one of the greatest players of all time.
During the twilight of his career, Messi can finally add the prestigious FIFA World Cup trophy to his long list of honours. It will remain important to remember that it was a triumph, in which the great man had played a crucial role for his team.
Mbappe's heroics deserve highest credit
Argentina and Messi will take all the headlines, but the performance of Mbappe is something which deserves a mention.
France had struggled to put Argentina under any kind of real pressure, throughout the match. Even being two goals down, France seemed like the team more likely to concede a third, rather than get one back and ignite an exciting culmination to the contest.
However, Mbappe was able to capitalise on an awarded penalty and moments later, produced one of the all-time great goals of World Cup finals.
After knocking the ball down to Marcus Thuram, following Adrien Rabiot's long pass, Mbappe set off into the space behind him, looking for the return pass from Thuram. His fellow forward provided him with a lofted through ball, which the 23-year-old emphatically volleyed past Martinez.
In extra-time, Mbappe won and converted another penalty, completing a World Cup final hat-trick - only the second man to achieve this, after Geoff Hurst, in 1966.
Unfortunately for the PSG man, he managed this feat on one of the very rare occasions, when the scorer of a hat-trick does not end up on the winning side of a contest. Instead, it was his club team-mate who takes the glory.
As such, it is a cruel ending for Mbappe. Just like Messi, his performances throughout the tournament warrant him being on the winning side of the final. The World Cup Golden Boot title, as a result of his eight goals, will be little consolation to the Frenchman.
Defensive and injury woes catch up with France
It was well documented that France arrived in Qatar with a hefty list of injury-related absentees. Presnel Kimpembe, N'Golo Kante, Paul Pogba, Christopher Nkunku and Karim Benzema were amongst some of the squad regulars which were forced to sit this tournament out.
Lucas Hernandez had to be taken off within the first 15 minutes of France's opening fixture, against Australia. The defender has been sidelined, since then.
As a result, this was not quite the same quality of a France team, which it may have very realistically been - similar to the one which went all the way in 2018.
While Argentina entered the World Cup on the back of a remarkable, 36-game unbeaten run, France came into the tournament with those aforementioned issues and a disappointing UEFA Nations League campaign - where they could only win one of their six fixtures and narrowly avoided relegation into League B.
Deschamps' team could only keep one clean sheet during that tournament - the same amount they managed in this one - combining for a disappointing total of just two clean sheets from their last 13 games.
France looked particularly vulnerable in their late knockout round fixtures against England and Morocco. While they were able to just about see themselves through those challenges and into the final, Argentina proved, by a minimal margin, a step too far.