French Minister of Economy, Finance, and Recovery Bruno Le Maire has slammed Argentina goalkeeper Emi Martinez for abusing Kylian Mbappe with an offensive World Cup victory celebration.
Argentina and France headed to penalty shootouts to settle the scores after a breathtaking 120 minutes of football.
While Lionel Messi made the headlines for crowning his 18 years in professional football with a World Cup trophy, Kylian Mbappe earned his credits for another stellar performance against the Albiceleste.
Mbappe shouldered the responsibility of restoring hope for Les Bleus after they had fallen by two unreplied goals in the first half. No thanks to Lionel Messi’s opener from the penalty spot and Angel Di Maria’s clinical volley in the 36th minute.
Argentina went into the first-half break brimming with optimism as they humbled the defending champion after a clinical first-half display.
For the first time in the tournament, France were trailing by two unreplied goals in the first half. It was their worst first-half performance in the tournament. No thanks to Argentina’s midfield trio Enzo Fernandes, De Paul, and Marc Allister.
It was a complete shutdown of the French midfield, with Aurelien Tchouameni and Antoine Griezmann overwhelmed and disabled.
Didier Deschamps finally got it right after Coman and Camavinga were introduced into the game. However, it took the brilliance and the magical feat of Kylian Mbappe to restore the lost hope for France.
The game was far spent, edging on the 80th minute, before the magic moment. Kylian Mbappe rose to the occasion with a quick brace to bring the scoreline to a 2-2 draw.
Argentina later regained their lead with another goal from Lionel Messi in the 108th minute. Kylian Mbappe was again the savior, scoring another spot kick to secure his hat-trick and drag the game to penalty shootouts.
Despite losing to the Argentines after penalties, Kylian Mbappe has been extolled by the French press as the hero of the tournament, but to the Argentines, he has been deemed a villain who nearly deprived Lionel Messi of the World Cup trophy after two finals.
Argentina goalkeeper, whose antics during the penalty shootouts had helped Argentina won the trophy, is the protagonist leading a mocking celebration directed at Kylian Mbappe.
A viral footage has shown the Aston Villa keeper urging his teammates to hold a minute’s silence for the “dead” Mbappe in the dressing room.
In Argentina, Martinez was spotted holding a baby doll with the face of Kylian Mbappe on it.
Emi Martinez’s antics has angered Bruno Le Maire, who has slammed him for disrespecting the 24-year-old.
Speaking to Sud Radio,Le Maire said: “What is Fifa doing? Sport is about fair play.
“It’s showing respect for others. It’s showing respect for those who lost.”
Kylian Mbappe became the first player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final after Geoff Hurst in 1966.
He peeped Lionel Messi to the 2022 World Cup Golden Boot after scoring 8 goals, with three of those goals coming in the final against Argentina.
