The stage had been set, the scripts had been written and the stars had aligned.
Lionel Messi, the 35-year-old superstar who had won it all except for one shiny, heavy, golden trophy, had dragged Argentina all the way to the final despite a shock loss to Saudi Arabia and several blown leads along the way.
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For a player that had won the hearts of almost everyone on the planet, fans longed for Messi to complete the fairytale and win the World Cup to cement his legacy as one of, if not the greatest of all time.
But standing across him and preparing to do all he could to ruin the Hollywood story was Messi’s 23-year-old Paris Saint-Germain teammate.
While the spotlight throughout the World Cup has largely centred on the Argentinian, Kylian Mbappe had built up an incredible resume of his own that was worthy of its own monologue.
Mbappe scored five goals en route to the final and proved that even if an opposition team wanted to structure their tactics to shackle him — looking at you, England — he only needs one burst, one moment to flip the contest on its head as was evident for Aurelien Tchouameni’s goal against the Three Lions.
Mbappe lifts France back from the brink | 00:50
The scintillating form on display in Qatar followed what Mbappe served up in Russia four years prior, as the winger announced himself on the world stage to lift France to a World Cup trophy.
Yet, for all of the hype surrounding Mbappe, the first half was all about Messi who scored the opening goal from the spot and played a key role in Argentina’s second.
The French never got out of first gear and looked frightened while Messi brandished his metaphorical sword and led his side into battle with wave after wave of attack.
Les Bleus boss Didier Deschamps hauled off Olivier Giroud and Ousmane Dembele in a tactical tweak aimed at getting Mbappe in more central and dangerous areas.
It was a drastic move that, for almost the entire game, looked like a disastrous gamble.
But, with 80 minutes on the clock, Mbappe proved why he’s the star of tomorrow.
France earned a penalty which Mbappe dispatched with ease — something he failed to do in France’s penalty shootout against Switzerland at Euro 2020.
Then, within the space of a minute, the 23-year-old was on the scoresheet again.
Messi & Di Maria put France on the ropes | 00:50
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The ball was floated over from the right, Mbappe headed the ball down to substitute Marcus Thuram, got the ball back and fired home a vicious volley that Argentinian goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez could not keep out.
It was a turnaround that seemed almost Messi-esque in how it galvanised the entire French team.
According to The Athletic’s Phil Hay, Mbappe’s equaliser was also “a classic example of what separates supreme footballers from very good players — the ability to pull a rabbit out of a hat”.
“Somehow, a final in which he had hardly featured became his in a flash,” Hay wrote.
“And like that, Messi was in Mbappe’s shade, behind him in the race for the Golden Boot too.”
Although Argentina held on to the 2-2 scoreline for the rest of regular time, they were holding on for dear life as Mbappe and his teammates surged forward at every opportunity.
Messi put La Albiceleste back in the lead in the second half of extra time and it looked for all money that it would be the winner given how late the goal came.
Yet there would be one final twist.
Did Infantino hijack Messi’s moment? | 00:54
In the 118th minute and Messi just moments away from glory, Mbappe fired a shot from outside the area which smacked the raised arm of Gonzalo Montiel and the referee pointed straight to the spot.
Mbappe stepped up once again and sent Martinez the wrong way to complete his hat-trick, making him only the second player behind Sir Geoff Hurst to accomplish the feat in a World Cup final.
Of course, there would be more drama as Mbappe’s equaliser sent the contest to a penalty shootout.
Despite scoring past Martinez for a fourth time, two of the Frenchman’s teammates could not do the same as Messi got to lift the World Cup trophy.
It was a cruel, cruel end to the tournament for Mbappe, capped off by winning the Golden Boot award and forced to pose with his trophy alongside Messi, Martinez and Enzo Fernandez who collected the other individual gongs.
The 23-year-old cut a devastated figure as he slumped in a seat on the bench and was consoled by French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron.
Although it was Messi’s moment, there could be little doubt the clash was a passing of the torch from one all-time superstar to the next.
After all, Mbappe is now just five goals away from breaking Miroslav Klose’s record for the most goals scored at a World Cup (16).
He’s done all of this before his 24th birthday and with one World Cup winner’s medal in his collection.
As The Independent’s Richard Jolly wrote, “the case for anointing Mbappe the best player on the planet now would be irresistible”, if only his Argentinian adversary was not opposite him.
The win ensured Messi kept the flame in his torch alive for at least a little while longer.
But a hat-trick in a World Cup final along with the Golden Boot award proved that whenever the time comes for Messi to pass the torch down, Mbappe will be the man waiting to carry football’s next era forward.
