Lionel Messi had the decisive say, inspiring Argentina to win the 2022 Football World Cup and removing any doubt over his status as the best player the game has ever seen.
At 35, and in his last chance to emulate countryman Diego Maradona with a World Cup title, Messi scored two goals, as Argentina defeated France in a penalty shootout to lift the Jules Rimet trophy for the third time.
Argentina's talisman scored the opening goal from the penalty spot, and later doubled their lead through Angel Di Maria, only for France to come back into the contest through a superstar of their own, Kylian Mbappe.
But with extra time ticking away, Messi looked to have bundled in the winner, only for Mbappe to complete his hat-trick, and send the game to a shootout.
Successful spot kicks from Messi, Paulo Dybala, and Leandro Paredes saw Argentina hold their nerve, as Kingsley Coman and Aurelien Tchouameni both missed to surrender match point.
When Gonzalo Montiel scored the fourth penalty, Qatar 2022 was Argentina's.
The victory is Argentina's third Football World Cup title, adding to those won in 1978 and 1986.
And after every recognisable honour at club level with FC Barcelona, Messi can now add the Football World Cup to his overflowing trophy cabinet.
Despite a hat-trick in a losing cause, Mbappe can at the very least take solace from winning the World Cup's golden boot, with a tournament-leading eight goals, one more than Messi.
Messi himself won the tournament's golden ball, awarded to the best player, while Martinez took the golden glove for the most clean sheets.
Argentina's Enzo Fernandez, 21, was named as the best young player of the World Cup.
In a frenetic start to the 2022 final, Argentina surged out to a 2-0 halftime lead in the hopes of ending their 36-year wait to win the sport's biggest prize.
A foul on Angel Di Maria gave Messi the chance to open the scoring from the sport, and Argentina's captain obliged with a composed finish past French skipper Hugo Lloris for a 1-0 lead.
That became 2-0 just 13 minutes later, as Di Maria turned scorer by finishing off a spectacular team move, and sending Argentina into raptures.
With a two-goal cushion at the break, and well into the second half, Argentina looked just minutes away from victory and cementing Messi's name into the pantheon of the game's best.
But for all the efforts of a recognised great, it was an emerging one that saw France storm back into the contest.
A foul on substitute Kolo Muani gave France a chance from the spot, which Mbappe needed no second invitation to convert.
And just seconds later, Mbappe netted the equaliser with his seventh goal of the tournament, booting a volley past Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
Messi had the chance to win the World Cup for Argentina in the dying minutes of stoppage time, only to be denied by a fingertip save from Lloris.
The two sides traded chances in extra time, as Argentina looked to have sealed it in the 108th minute.
But again, Mbappe showed why he's considered the game's next global icon, holding his nerve to score his second penalty, and send the game into a shootout.
Mbappe scored first from the spot, as Messi equalised with Argentina's first penalty.
But after carrying his teammates for the duration of the final, Mbappe was powerless to help them when it came to penalties.
Misses from Coman and Tchouameni left France on the verge, and when Montiel beat Lloris from the spot, Messi's crowning moment arrived.
Argentina 3 (Messi 2, Di Maria) France 3 (Mbappe 3)
Argentina win 4-2 on penalties
