Three secrets of Argentina’s World Cup final triumph

A year ago, on this day, Lionel Messi's Argentina triumphed over France in a final for the ages to lift their third FIFA World Cup.

After over two hours of football, the scoreline was 3-3, and the fate of the final was decided on penalties, where the Argentines edged out the French by the narrowest of margins.

A year after that incredible night, Argentine media TYC Sports looked back at some of the secrets of the final that not everyone knows

Scaloni's surprise

An hour before going to Lusail to play the final of the World Cup in Qatar, coach Lionel Scaloni confirmed the team to his players. Among the names there was a big surprise, as Ángel Di María, Argentina's trusted right winger, was placed on the left side.

"When the formation for the final came out, I looked to the right, I saw that I wasn't there and I thought that he wasn't playing, that he was going to the bench. Then I saw that it was on the left. "It surprised even me,", recently declared Di María in an interview with Star+.

"We were clear that Di María was going to play on the left, which we didn't tell them until an hour before the game. We did not give anyone the advantage of knowing," Scaloni said in an interview with FIFA.

Messi's reaction to Mbappé's equaliser

Messi lamented Mbappé's goal that made it 2-2 after going up by two goals and almost kneeled on the ground; but at the last moment, before touching the grass, he decided to get up. This worked almost like a premonition of what would happen later: the victory on penalties.

The penalty that wasn't

Montiel scored the decisive penalty of the shootout. But he was the fourth Argentine in that shootout as the fifth and final penalty was left out to Lautaro Martinez.

Martinez later revealed that he wasn't happy with the order as he wanted to take the fourth one.

"The coach and I met to decide the penalty kick takers, he started listing names, and I obviously told him that I wanted in.

"I'm a striker and do it for my club, and also for the national team when Messi and Leandro Paredes aren't on the pitch. It happened in Copa America for instance. In the end, he compiled the order, and I ended up being fifth. I asked Gonzalo Montiel to take the decisive one, but we couldn't change it."

In the end, Martinez didn't have to take the final penalty, as Emiliano Martinez's two saves and conversion of all Argentine penalty takers won Argentina the World Cup.