In pictures: Argentina beat France in Qatar World Cup final

Argentina are 2022 World Cup champions for the third time after beating France on penalties in the final in Qatar.

Gonzalo Montiel scored the winning spot-kick to give the South Americans a 4-2 victory in the shoot-out, after a frenetic game ended 3-3 after extra time.

Lionel Messi scored twice and Angel di Maria netted for the Argentines, while France's Kylian Mbappe became the first player since Geoff Hurst in 1966 to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final.

Argentina eventually triumphed to seal their third world title, with Messi crowning an extraordinary career by lifting the golden trophy at Lusail Stadium.

Here is the tale of a remarkable football match, told through the best pictures from the final...

“People had started gathering on the Champs-Elysees even before the start of the World Cup final. Police blocked traffic at the site and near the Arc de Triomphe. Thousands of cops were patrolling Paris but all hell broke loose when France lost the final,” according to a report in Times Now.

On Sunday, Argentina and France drew 3-3 through extra time to set the record. Lionel Messi scored two goals for Argentina and Kylian Mbappe got a hat trick for France - the first in a World Cup final since 1966. Argentina won the title, its third, by prevailing 4-2 in a penalty shootout.

Argentina doubled their advantage in the first half, Di Maria completing a swift counter-attack with a fine finish past Hugo Lloris. At this stage, the South Americans appeared to have one hand on the trophy...

After failing to have a single shot until the 67th minute, Kylian Mbappe gave France hope from the penalty spot after Nicolas Otamendi fouled Randal Kolo Muani...

Hope turned into jubilation when Mbappe slammed a volley past Emi Martinez to make it 2-2. The striker's first two goals were separated by just 97 seconds.

The game went to extra time, and it appeared Messi had won it for Argentina - again - when he forced the ball over the line after Lloris had saved a Lautaro Martinez shot. Jules Kounde's attempts to clear were in vain

But France, and Mbappe, were not yet beaten. A shot was blocked by an Argentine arm, so up stepped the PSG star to make it 3-3...

...and become the first male player for 56 years to score a World Cup final hat-trick. After three penalties in 120 minutes, the game was to be decided by a shootout.

Mbappe and Messi took the first penalties and both scored. Then up stepped France's Kingsley Coman - who was denied by Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez

It fell to Gonzalo Montiel, a 90th-minute substitute at right-back, to take the decisive penalty - he sent Lloris the wrong way to seal a 4-2 shoot-out win

Montiel covered his face with his shirt as the emotion hit following his winning penalty, before he was mobbed by ecstatic team-mates

Messi was named player of the tournament and given the Golden Ball award. However, there was only one golden prize he had his eyes on...

This was Argentina's third World Cup triumph, after 1978 and 1986. It comes a little over two years after the death of Diego Maradona, who starred in the latter of those two triumphs