Watch: French President Emmanuel Macron consoles Kylian Mbappe after World Cup final defeat

“One of the greatest football matches to have ever been played,” Peter Drury said it all when Kylian Mbappe orchestrated France’s comeback for the second time in the Qatar World Cup Final on Sunday at Doha’s Lusail Stadium. However, Les Blues were left within touching distance of their second consecutive World Cup title as Argentina snatched the game away in the penalty shootout . After the match, French President Emmanuel Macron was seen taking to the pitch and consoling his players, especially Mbappe.

Argentina pulled off a strong start to the match and dominated the entire first half. Lionel Messi invaded the French defense several times but finally etched his name on the scoresheet by converting a penalty in the 23rd minute. Some moments later, veteran Argentine forward Angel Di Maria extended the lead through a spectacular counterattack. Didier Deschamps’ men could not register a single goal attempt during the first 45 minutes. France were looking more composed in the second half but remained on the backfoot until Randal Kolo Muani earned a much-needed penalty in the 80th minute. Mbappe did not make any mistake in striking the net, which sparked hopes for a comeback by France. Within just 97 seconds of that goal, the PSG striker showcased his brilliance with another goal. His brace forced the match to enter 30 minutes of additional time. Watch: How Argentina defeated France in final to clinch FIFA World Cup title Messi again came out of his shell and handed Argentina a one-goal lead in the 108th minute. France took merely 10 minutes to equalise again, with Mbappe completing his hat-trick with the second successful penalty of the match. With the scoreline reading 3-3 in the end, the nail-biting encounter had to be decided through a penalty shootout. Argentina made no mistake and made it all count, while France’s Kingsley Coman and Aurelien Tchouameni failed to go past Emiliano Martinez. When Gonzalo Montiel scored the fourth one, the deal was sealed for La Albiceleste. Following the defeat, Mbappe was evidently devastated. After the shootout was done, President Macron who was watching the game live from the stands, came onto the field to comfort French footballers. He was spotted having a conversation with Mbappe and hugging him while Martinez, the Argentine goalkeeper, took a step forward to do the same thing. Macron praised the 23-year-old during the post-match interview and stated, “Mbappe is a very great player, but he is young. I told him he was only 23. He was top scorer at this World Cup. He won a World Cup (in 2018), he made a final. I was as sad as him. I said he made us very proud and in the end we lost a football match, we went to nothing. That’s sport.” Notably, Mbappe finished the competition as the highest scorer with 8 goals to his name and won the Golden Boot award. Read all the  Latest News ****,  Trending News ****,  Cricket News ****,  Bollywood News ****,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook****,  Twitter and  Instagram****.