The best World Cup final pictures

By BBC Sport and Getty Images

The eyes of the world will be on the Lusail Stadium in Qatar on Sunday when Argentina meet France in the final of the 2022 World Cup.

Thousands of camera lenses will be trained on the action, hoping to capture the moments that will be splashed across every newspaper in the days that follow and continue to evoke memories in the decades to come.

Over the past 92 years photographers have been in attendance at 21 finals to record what they witness – the colour, the excitement, the goals and the glamour. BBC Sport has partnered with Getty Images to bring you the best photos.

We begin on 30 June 1930 at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, Uruguay…

The 1930 showdown was between the hosts and Argentina in a rematch of the gold-medal game at the 1928 Olympics, which was won by Uruguay.

Only seven teams took part in the inaugural tournament. Four arrived from Europe on the same boat, training on the top deck as they travelled. 

Uruguay’s Pablo Dorado scored the first World Cup final goal in the 12th minute of the contest (first picture below), but this was quickly cancelled out by Carlos Peucelle’s fierce strike. Before the break, tournament top scorer Guillermo Stabile put Argentina ahead – his eighth goal of that World Cup.

Uruguay dominated the second half, though. Pedro Cea made it 2-2 before Santos Iriarte put them back into the lead.

With a minute to go, Hector Castro made sure of the win – and remains the only one-armed man to score in a World Cup final. His goal is the second photo below…