Messi’s second of the game, 108 minutes in, restored Argentina’s advantage with Cristian Romero provocatively roaring his celebration in Mbappe’s face. As it transpired, and while there were no protests at the time, that goal should technically not have stood as two of the South Americans’ substitutes were encroaching on the pitch on the far side as Jules Kounde desperately tried to hack the forward’s attempt from the goal line. The subs had spilled on in anticipation of Lautaro Martinez’s initial shot finding the back of the net, only for Lloris to palm it out for Messi to convert.
L’Equipe would quote law three, paragraph nine of the Laws of the Game in their morning edition, stating that if, “after a goal is scored, the referee realises, before play restarts, an extra person — a player, substitute, substituted player — was on the field of play when the goal was scored then the referee must disallow the goal”. Yet no one alerted referee Marciniak and he remained blissfully unaware of the encroachment.