Argentina are World Cup winners, having beaten France in a tense penalty shootout following one of the best finals of all time. See Last Word on Football’s Argentina player ratings for the match against France
Argentina Player Ratings vs France
Emiliano Martinez – 9
Not much he could do about any of the goals. As standard Martinez did everything his country could ask of him, keeping Argentina in the World Cup with an incredible save from Kolo Muani. The best penalty shootout goalkeeper in the world.
Nahuel Molina – 6
Mostly silenced France’s main threat, Kylian Mbappe. An extremely disciplined performance in a match that could have become emotional very quickly, with an unavoidable moment of magic beating him for the second goal.
Cristian Romero – 7
Did more than defend passively, stepping up to cut out balls to Olivier Giroud and Marcus Thuram that could have otherwise offered a threat. Showed his class in forcing Giroud off early.
Nicolas Otamendi – 4.5
Led an experienced back line until he gave away the penalty for Kylian Mbappe’s first goal. A single mistake, but one that had drastic consequences for the match.
Nicolas Tagliafico – 6
Had a fairly quiet final, with Ousmane Dembele failing to have any real impact on the right wing.
Rodrigo De Paul – 6
Keeping Mbappe quiet was a necessity, and Rodrigo De Paul was a fundamental part of this. With constant communication between the midfielder and Nahuel Molina, the forward was weak in the earlier stages of the match before improving to be a key player.
Enzo Fernandez – 7.5
Control was the buzzword for this match, and Argentina’s midfield dominance came in part thanks to Enzo Fernandez. Offered a great platform for the rest of the side to work from.
Alexis Mac Allister – 8
Did everything he needed to and more, pressing incredibly hard and securing the ball in tight midfield areas. Excellent performance to wrap up a breakthrough World Cup for the Brighton midfielder.
Lionel Messi – 9
There was a clear plan to silence Lionel Messi in this match, and it didn’t work. Attracted Theo Hernandez time after time, opening up space on the right-hand side of the pitch. Drifted out of focus as the match went on, but was exactly where he needed to be at the death.
Read More: Lionel Messi’s Greatest Games
Julian Alvarez – 7
Another strong performance from Julian Alvarez, creating plenty of opportunities for his team and being unlucky not to have more from this match.
Angel Di Maria – 9
An imperious performance, scoring one and winning the penalty for another. Could have been very different if Di Maria stayed on for the full ninety minutes of the match.
Read More: Argentina’s Strengths and Weaknesses
Marcos Acuna (Substitute) – 4
Came on and very clearly changed the shape of the match, and not in a good way. Argentina lost control of the match after Acuna came on, with the left-back offering less control than Angel Di Maria.
Leandro Paredes (Substitute) – 5.5
On in extra time to replace the increasingly tired Rodrigo De Paul, and provided a little more support and structure where Argentina had previously been collapsing.
Lautaro Martinez (Substitute) – 5.5
Came on in extra time, but still missed an excellent opportunity put on a plate by Lionel Messi, followed by another blocked chance minutes later. Thankfully assisted Messi’s late goal.
German Pezzella (Substitute) – N/A
On in the last minutes and had no real impact on the match.
Paulo Dybala (Substitute) – N/A
Brought on to take a penalty in the shootout, his entire final coming down to a lottery.
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