Thirty-two teams started out on the path to hopeful World Cup glory, but that was whittled down to Argentina and France in the final.
The two teams made it a special night of football at the Lusail Stadium, but it was Lionel Messi’s team that took home the biggest prize.
Messi scored twice while Kylian Mbappe netted a hat-trick as the match finished 3-3 after extra time. It took penalties to decide the winner and Argentina converted all their shots to win the final 4-2.
Here is the Qatar World Cup in numbers.
Kylian Mbappe ended the Qatar World Cup with the Golden Boot after a sensational hat-trick in an ultimately losing effort in the final. Mbappe scored eight goals, one better than the seven scored by Lionel Messi – who scored a brace in what was one of the greatest finals of all time.
As would be expected, it is finalists France and Argentina leading the way in this battle. England, who scored six against Iran in their opening match, are third with 13 goals scored.
Lionel Messi was named as player of the tournament – winning the Golden Ball – with Kylian Mbappe awarded the Silver Ball and Luka Modric handed the Bronze Ball for third best performer.
Emiliano Martinez won the Golden Glove in Qatar after keeping three clean sheets on Argentina’s route to glory, while also playing a crucial role in their shoot-out wins in the quarter-final and final.
Alphonso Davies took the honours in Qatar, scoring after just one minute and eight seconds in Canada’s 4-1 defeat to Croatia.
England’s Harry Kane, Portugal’s Bruno Fernandes, Argentina’s Lionel Messi, France’s Antoine Griezmann, and Croatia’s Ivan Perisic all share top-spot with three assists apiece.
Morocco were the surprise takers for the most clean sheets achieved in Qatar, reaching the semi-finals, before eventually losing the third-place play-off match.
South Korea’s Paulo Bento became the first coach ever to be shown a red card at a World Cup match, during his team’s clash with Uruguay.
Wales’s Wayne Hennessey became the first player to be sent off in Qatar, during his side’s 2-0 defeat to Iran, while Cameroon’s Vincent Aboubakar scored the winner in their shock victory over Brazil, but was sent off after picking up a second yellow card for his celebration.
Morocco’s Walid Cheddira got two yellow cards in a matter of minutes in their 1-0 quarter-final victory over Portugal, leaving the North African side defending for their lives in the closing moments of the match.
Spanish referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz brandished 15 yellow cards (one short of the record) and a red for Denzel Dumfries in Argentina’s win over the Netherlands.
France conceded another penalty in the final, having done so twice in their quarter-final win over England – Kane scored the first, but skied the second. They also conceded a penalty in their round of 16 clash with Poland. Japan were also poor in the penalty department, similarly conceding four spot-kicks.
