Argentinian fans have been celebrating through the night after their team won the World Cup in what some commentators have described as one of the best games in the history of the tournament.
Fans who had travelled to the Middle East cheered as the players were driven by open-top bus through the streets outside Lusail Stadium.
Image: A bus with the celebrating Argentina players in Lusail, Qatar
In the Argentinian capital Buenos Aires, hundreds of thousands of people celebrated their team’s first world championship since 1986.
It was a rare moment of joy for a country struggling with high inflation and an economic crisis that has pushed some 40% of the population into poverty.
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Jubilant scenes in Argentina
Rogelio Vazquez, an Argentinian fan, said: “We could have won it comfortably, but we were forced to suffer, like always.
“But the suffering makes the win all the more enjoyable.”
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Diego Aburgeily, 46, another fan, said: “This team made people fall in love with them for the first time in decades.”
The star of the game was Argentinian captain Lionel Messi, who scored twice at the Lusail Stadium, and was crowned player of the tournament.
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Image: Lionel Messi’s sweet victory
Messi, 35, later quashed rumours that he might be about to retire from the sport, telling Argentinian TV: “I want to keep experiencing a few more matches as world champion.
“I knew God would bring this gift to me, I had the feeling that this World Cup was the one.
“It took so long, but here it is. We suffered a lot, but we managed to do it.
“Can’t wait to be in Argentina to witness the insanity of this.”
But he was not the tournament’s top scorer – that honour belonged to Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe, who scored eight goals, including a hat-trick in the final, winning him the Golden Boot award.
After the match, several UK sports commentators said the final would go down in history as one of the greatest games of football ever.
Jamie Carragher tweeted: “One of the best games of all time!”
Alan Shearer said: “We’re breathless up here. It was just an unbelievable final. It was great to be here, a pleasure to be here.
“I’ve never seen anything like it and I don’t think I’ll ever see anything like it again. It was staggering.”
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‘This night is wonderful’
Gary Lineker said: “It’s been an absolute privilege to watch Lionel Messi for nearly two decades.
“Moment after moment of spellbinding, breathtakingly joyous football. He’s a gift from the footballing Gods.”
Gary Neville said: “Messi should be the centre of attention and it feels right that he has won a World Cup.
“It feels like destiny was there for him and he’s contributed enormous amounts during this tournament.”
Image: France’s President Emmanuel Macron consoles Kylian Mbappe. Pic: AP
For the French fans, there was disappointment, and President Emmanuel Macron tweeted: “Congratulations to the French team for its career and its combativeness in this World Cup.
“You have thrilled the nation and supporters around the world. Congratulations to Argentina for their victory.”
The match wrapped up what had been one of the most controversial World Cups in history – with pretournament rows raging over the treatment of migrant workers, LGBT+ rights and the shift of the tournament to winter to avoid the baking summer heat.
The next World Cup finals will be held in the US, Mexico and Canada – the first time the tournament will have been co-hosted since Japan and South Korea in 2002.
Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin and suggested a shift in his stance towards the Russian president after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Pope’s funeral.
The Ukrainian president said the one-on-one talks could prove to be “historic” after pictures showed him sitting opposite Mr Trump, around two feet apart, in the large marble hall inside St Peter’s Basilica.
The US president said he doubted his Russian counterpart’s willingness to end the war after leaving Rome after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said “there was no reason” for the Russian president “to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days”.
Image: The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
He added: “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”
The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was their first face-to-face encounter since a very public row in the Oval Office in February.
Mr Zelenskyy said he had a good meeting with Mr Trump in which they talked about the defence of the Ukrainian people, a full and unconditional ceasefire, and a durable and lasting peace that would prevent the war restarting.
Other images released by the Ukrainian president’s office show Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were present for part of the talks, which were described as “positive” by the French presidency.
Mr Zelenskyy‘s spokesman said the meeting lasted for around 15 minutes and he and Mr Trump had agreed to hold further discussions later on Saturday.
Image: The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Image: Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica
But the US president left Rome for Washington on Air Force One soon after the funeral without any other talks having taken place.
The Ukrainian president’s office said there was no second meeting in Rome because of the tight schedule of both leaders, although he had separate discussions with Mr Starmer and Mr Macron.
The French president said in a post on X “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire” and that a so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, would continue working to achieve a lasting peace.
There was applause from some of the other world leaders in attendance at the Vatican when Mr Zelenskyy walked out of St Peter’s Basilica after stopping in front of the pontiff’s coffin to pay his respects.
Image: Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president met for the first time since their Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian leader.
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.
Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News the meeting is being called “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy, adding: “There’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming.”
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Mr Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
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On an extraordinary day, remarkable pictures on the margins that capture what may be a turning point for the world.
In a corner of St Peter’s Basilica before the funeral of Pope Francis, the leaders of America and Ukraine sit facing each other in two solitary chairs.
They look like confessor and sinner except we cannot tell which one is which.
In another, the Ukrainian president seems to be remonstrating with the US president. This is their first encounter since their infamous bust-up in the Oval Office.
Image: The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
Other pictures show the moment their French and British counterparts introduced the two men. There is a palpable sense of nervousness in the way the leaders engage.
We do not know what the two presidents said in their brief meeting.
But in the mind of the Ukrainian leader will be the knowledge President Trump has this week said America will reward Russia for its unprovoked brutal invasion of his country, under any peace deal.
Mr Trump has presented Ukraine and Russia with a proposal and ultimatum so one-sided it could have been written in the Kremlin.
Kyiv must surrender the land Russia has taken by force, Crimea forever, the rest at least for now. And it must submit to an act of extortion, a proposed deal that would hand over half its mineral wealth effectively to America.
Image: The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Afterwards, Zelenskyy said it had been a good meeting that could turn out to be historic “if we reach results together”.
They had talked, he said, about the defence of Ukraine, a full and unconditional ceasefire and a durable and lasting peace that will prevent a war restarting.
The Trump peace proposal includes only unspecified security guarantees for Ukraine from countries that do not include the US. It rules out any membership of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s allies are watching closely to see if Mr Trump will apply any pressure on Vladimir Putin, let alone punish him for recent bloody attacks on Ukraine.
Or will he simply walk away if the proposal fails, blaming Ukrainian intransigence, however outrageously, before moving onto a rapprochement with Moscow.
If he does, America’s role as guarantor of international security will be seen effectively as over.
This could be the week we see the world order as we have known it since the end of the Second World War buried, as well as a pope.