Argentina defeated France on penalties in a pulsating match dominated by two talismanic strikers who play their club soccer for a team owned by the Gulf Arab state that has earned huge wealth in recent decades from natural gas exports.

Fireworks cracked, car horns sounded and fans draped in the national blue and white colors sang, danced and waved flags.

Indonesians across the country came together and witnessed one of the most exciting World Cup finals in history on Sunday night.

Brazilian football legend Pele was watching the 2022 FIFA World Cup final on Sunday while receiving a foot massage in a hospital as he battles colon cancer, according to his daughter, who posted a photograph of the icon.

Tears flowed at Lusail stadium when Gonzalo Montiel buried the winning penalty for a 4-2 shootout victory after Kylian Mbappe's hat-trick had dragged France back into the contest twice following Angel Di Maria's opener and Lionel Messi's double.

Deschamps was hoping to lead the 2018 world champions to back-to-back titles in Qatar, and they came agonisingly close, losing the final to Argentina on penalties following a thrilling 3-3 draw after extra time.

The absence of a World Cup winners' medal has long been Exhibit A in the argument about why Messi does not rank above Pele and Diego Maradona in football's pantheon.

Messi dazzled in Doha as Argentina beat France 4-2 on penalties at the Lusail Stadium after one of the greatest finals in history finished 3-3, with the diminutive forward scoring twice.

Croatia edged Morocco 2-1 in Saturday's third-place playoff, an entertaining affair that served as a curtain-raiser to the main event where France stand in the way of Lionel Messi and his last chance of glory.

In an article on Friday entitled "The World Cup's Missing Mouthpiece", the US newspaper alleged Qatar had been disappointed with its return on its investment because the former Manchester United and Real Madrid player had appeared very little in public during the World Cup.

With little more than 24 hours to go before the world champions face Lionel Messi and Argentina at Doha's Lusail Stadium on Sunday, France have been left reeling by a viral outbreak that is believed to have affected five players so far.

The Atlas Lions, who became the first African World Cup semi-finalists in history, lost Saturday's third place play-off 2-1 against 2018 runners-up Croatia but captured the imagination in Qatar.

Despite defeat, Morocco also leave with heads aloft after becoming the first African side to reach a World Cup semi-final.

A Copa America title, an Olympic gold medal and a list of scoring and statistical records that may never be beaten.

Mbappe, who turns 24 two days after the final, is the joint leading scorer with five goals at this World Cup and the face of football's new generation.

The report said he wants to appear via video link before Argentina take on defending champions France in Doha's Lusail Stadium with an expected global audience of hundreds of millions.

He said the tournament, which currently involves seven teams, would be held every four years and would boost revenues for the global sports body further.

Morocco, punching above their weight, beat Belgium and Canada in the group stage before eliminating 2010 world champions Spain on penalties in the last 16 and then beating 2016 European champions Portugal in the quarter-finals.

Amid a growing frenzy ahead of Sunday's game against defending champions France, supporters said the cheapest official tickets are selling on underground markets for more than $4,000.

Coman, the Bayern Munich winger, had already been forced to miss a training session on Thursday because of a "light viral syndrome", the French Football Federation (FFF) said.

Grant Wahl, a leading American sports reporter who died suddenly on Dec. 10 while covering the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, suffered a fatal rupture of the aorta, the main blood vessel leading from the heart, his wife said on Wednesday.

There were jubilant scenes on the Champs-Elysees avenue in central Paris on Wednesday as French supporters waved tricolor flags and let off flares to celebrate the win over Morocco that put Les Bleus into the World Cup final.

Goals from Theo Hernandez and substitute Randal Kolo Muani put the French into a fourth World Cup final and gave them the chance to become the first team to retain the title since Brazil 60 years ago.

Considered by many to be the world’s best, Messi now has a chance to put behind him defeat in the 2014 World Cup final and fill the only blank on his career resume.

In the 21 editions of the World Cup over 92 years featuring 79 nations, there have still been only eight winners and only 13 have made it to the final. Spain were the last to join the elite group of champions in 2010 after France in 1998 and Argentina in 1978. 

In the second semi-final on Wednesday, reigning champions France take on giant-killing Morocco, the first African team ever to reach the last four of a World Cup.

France, who defeated England on Saturday, are looking to become the first team in 60 years to retain the trophy but they can expect fierce resistance from the surprise package of the tournament.