Argentina were crowned 2022 FIFA World Cup champions after seeing off France via the penalty shoot-out on Sunday evening.
The Albiceleste were boosted by the return from injury of Angel Di Maria, as Lionel Messi became the all-time record holder with 26 matches in the tournament.
Les Bleus also were buoyed by the return of Dayot Upamecano and Adrien Rabiot from illness, as the front trio of Kylian Mbappe, Olivier Giroud and Ousmane Dembele prevailed.
The opening exchanges were lively but it took just under 20 minutes for threatening opportunities, as Di Maria and Giroud were off the mark with their good chances in front of goal for either side.
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Just after that sequence of chances, Argentina were awarded a penalty after Dembele clipped Di Maria's heel, who was going through on goal, in the box. Messi went up to the penalty spot and broke the deadlock with a composed strike.
France were eager to respond but they could not get their front three into the game and they were eventually caught on a counter-attack ten minutes before the interval after Di Maria fired home a square pass from Alexis Mac Allister, following a decisive through ball by Messi in the build up.
France were unable to click into gear in the second half, but Scaloni did not take chances with just under half-an-hour remaining, as he made a defensive change that saw Di Maria make way for defender Marcos Acuna.
However, Les Bleus had a lifeline in the last ten minutes after Mbappe pulled a goal back from the penalty spot with powerful side-footed shot after Nicolas Otamendi clumsily brought down Randal Kolo Muani in the box.
With France's hopes up and having the momentum, Mbappe completed their turnaround just a minute later with a low first-time volley in the box, grabbed his brace and became the leading goal-scorer in the tournament with seven goals, one ahead of Messi.
Les Bleus kept on surging forward, as Argentina were rattled but Messi almost had the last say in stoppage time with a stinging shot that required a strong hand from Lloris underneath the crossbar, as the sides went to extra-time.
The Albiceleste came back to life in the first period of extra-time, especially after Lautaro Martinez replaced Julian Alvarez for fresh legs upfront, as he had two big chances in quick succession but was denied by crucial blocks from Upamecano on both occasions.
The South American giants had the momentum in the second period of extra-time and Messi restored their lead four minutes in, with a close-range finish that was confirmed by goal-line technology and was tied again with Mbappe for the Golden Boot award with seven goals.
There was more drama in the tail end of extra-time, as Mbappe smashed home the equaliser from the penalty spot and completed his hat-trick, the first in a World Cup final since Sir Geoff Hurst in 1966.
The was still time for the winner as shot-stopper Emiliano Martinez made an unbelievable save with an out-stretched leg to keep out a goal-bound shot from Muani in a one-on-one in the box and the sides went to penalty shoot-out.
The Albiceleste won the shoot-out 4-2, after Martinez saved Kingsley Coman's spot-kick, while Aurelien Tchouameni missed his kick, which allowed Montiel to score the winning penalty for the South Americans.
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