A review of the Parisians' World Cup

a successful group stage for the Rouge et Bleu

No less than eleven players from Paris Saint-Germain represented their countries in this latest edition of the World Cup: Keylor Navas with Costa Rica, Carlos Soler and Pablo Sarabia with Spain, Danilo Pereira, Nuno Mendes and Vitinha with Portugal, Marquinhos and Neymar Jr with Brazil, Achraf Hakimi with Morocco, Kylian Mbappé with France and finally Lionel Messi with Argentina.

The first of these to shine was Leo Messi, who scored but lost with Argentina to Saudi Arabia. This did not prevent the Albiceleste captain from qualifying for the next round after two victories over Mexico (2-0) and Poland (2-0), scoring another goal in the process.

Kylian Mbappé was the second Parisian to shine in the competition, with a win and a goal against Australia (4-1). Despite a loss to Tunisia (0-1), the French were helped by a brace from the Parisian striker and a second win over Denmark (2-1) to finish top of their group. Meanwhile, Achraf Hakimi was a key figure in Morocco's run to top their group ahead of Croatia (0-0), Belgium (2-0) and Canada (2-1).

Carlos Soler and Pablo Sarabia helped La Roja qualify thanks to a 7-0 win over Costa Rica that saw the Paris No.28 become the club's third scorer at the tournament. With Portugal, Danilo Pereira, Nuno Mendes and Vitinha had a successful group stage with victories over Ghana (3-2) and Uruguay (2-0) allowing the Seleçcāo to finish top of their group.

Finally, Neymar Jr and Marquinhos' Brazil also finished top of their group with convincing wins over Serbia (2-0) and Switzerland (1-0). Paris goalkeeper Keylor Navas, meanwhile, could not prevent his side from finishing bottom of a tough group that included Spain, Germany and Japan.

eight Parisiens reached the quarter finals, spain were knocked out

Lionel Messi became the first Parisian to qualify for the quarter-finals of the tournament with a 2-1 win over Australia. The Parisian striker, who started and captained his country, scored the winning goal and was voted player of the match in the 1,000th game of his career. He was soon joined by Kylian Mbappé's France, who beat Poland 3-1 in a match in which the Paris native once again showed his talent. With an assist and a brace, the Paris Saint-Germain striker was voted player of the match for the third time in the competition.

Brazil also qualified for the next round with a comfortable 4-1 win over South Korea. The Parisians Marquinhos and Neymar Jr were in the starting line-up for the Seleção. The Rouge et Bleu striker was decisive in scoring his first goal in the competition. Neymar Jr was also voted man of the match, becoming the fourth player from the club from the capital to receive this award since the start of the competition after Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi and Achraf Hakimi.

Portugal's Nuno Mendes, Danilo Pereira and Vitinha also qualified for the quarter-finals thanks to an impressive 6-1 victory over Switzerland. Finally, Achraf Hakimi and the Atlas Lions qualified at the expense of Carlos Soler and Pablo Sarabia's Spain after a thrilling match (0-0 aet, 3-0 on penalties). The Parisian fullback played the whole match and gave his team the victory by converting his penalty with a sublime Panenka. The two La Roja players who came on during the match were unable to prevent their team from being eliminated.

three Rouge et Bleu made it to the final four, brazil and portugal were knocked out 

After a penalty shoot-out, Leo Messi's Argentina qualified for the semi-finals of the World Cup after a thrilling match against the Netherlands (2-2 aet, 4-3 on penalties). The Parisian striker scored a penalty, putting the Albiceleste on their way to qualifying.

Unfortunately, our other two South Americans were not as fortunate with penalties. Marquinhos and Neymar Jr's Seleção lost to Croatia after a hard-fought match, although the Paris Saint-Germain forward had opened the scoring for his side during extra time (1-1 aet, 2-4 on penalties). A cruel end to the competition for the Auriverde team.

The biggest clash of the quarter-finals was certainly between France and England. And it was Kylian Mbappé's Bleus who won by a score of 2 goals to 1 thanks to goals from Aurélien Tchouaméni and Olivier Giroud. Didier Deschamps' men then faced Morocco in the next round, as the Atlas Lions upset Vitinha's Portugal by the narrowest of margins (1-0).

This was a historic qualification for Achraf Hakimi and his team-mates, while Danilo Pereira and Nuno Mendes were forced to leave the squad due to injuries.

a final clash between kylian mbappé's france and lionel messi's argentina 

The first semi-final saw Argentina take on Croatia, who had beaten Brazil in the previous round. After a foul by the Croatian goalkeeper on Alvarez, Lionel Messi converted the penalty and allowed Argentina to open the scoring in this one-sided match where the Albiceleste qualified for the final (3-0).

The Argentine Paris Saint-Germain forward also became his country's all-time leading scorer at the World Cup with 11 goals.

In the second semi-final of the competition, two Parisians were pitted against each other: Kylian Mbappé for France and Achraf Hakimi for Morocco. The Parisian forward saw his shot deflected in the box in the first few minutes, and it fell to Theo Hernandez, who fired past the Moroccan goalkeeper.

Kylian Mbappé then caused further trouble for the home side's defence. Following a mazy run, the France international tried his luck and saw his shot deflected to Randal Kolo Muani who made it 2-0.

achraf hakimi's morocco just miss out on the podium

After failing to reach the final by losing to France, the Atlas Lions played one last match in the competition: the third place match against Croatia, who were eliminated by Lionel Messi's Argentina (0-3). In this last game, the club from the capital’s fullback was once again a starter on the right side of the defence and played the whole game against the Croatians.

Unfortunately, his team did not manage to overcome the 2018 World Cup runners-up who won 2 goals to 1 and took 3rd place. For Achraf Hakimi and his team, the historic run came to an end.

Lionel Messi became world champion, Kylian Mbappé was heroic

A legendary final. The 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup ended in style, with Lionel Messi and Argentina beating Kylian Mbappé's France. The two Parisians each led their teams in a breathtaking match. La Pulga converted a penalty won by Di Maria to give his side the lead (1-0, 23'), before the latter doubled the lead for his country (2-0, 36').

But just as the game was heading towards a comfortable win for the Argentinians, Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappé once again dazzled the world with his talent. A minute after reducing the score from a penalty (2-1, 80'), the Frenchman equalised with a wonderful volley to allow Les Bleus to go into extra time (2-2, 81').

Argentina then took the lead again in this incredible match thanks to a goal from Lionel Messi (3-2, 108'). And the madness did not stop there, as two minutes from time, Mbappé won a penalty which he converted again (3-3, 118').

The two Parisian stars did not make a mistake and succeeded in converting their penalties. Argentina ended up winning the penalty shoot-out, which put Leo Messi on top of the world.

The Paris Saint-Germain No. 30 was then awarded the trophy for best player of the competition, while Kylian Mbappé was rewarded with the title of top scorer with 8 goals. This was the end of a World Cup that will be remembered for a long time.

Speaking to BeIN SPORTS, Paris Saint-Germain President Nasser Al-Khelaïfi said after the epic final of the competition: "Tonight, I have mixed emotions. I am sad for all of France, and particularly for Kylian. We are still very proud of him and his team, because he did his best during this match. That's football, it's tough. We are very proud of Kylian who had a great tournament. We are also proud of Leo who deserves to win the World Cup, it was probably his last. In any case, we are proud of our players. I can't be prouder than I am right now, it was a great final."