Emotional roller-coaster - Argentina fans exhale after shoot-out win

For a while, the group of Argentina supporters at Allure Blue Lounge in Waterhouse, St Andrew, were stunned into silence after their team let a two-goal lead slip in the final 10 minutes of Sunday's six-goal thriller with France in the World Cup finals.

The French supporters, who were previously shell-shocked during a timid first-half display, had sprung back to life following a Kylian Mbappe-inspired French renaissance that pushed the game to extra-time then penalties.

The knives were being sharpened. There were looks of disbelief plastered all over the La Albicelestes group, who were no longer vocal but instead biting incessantly on their finger nails.

"Go fi di scallion and rum fi dem deh, cause it look like dem a guh pass out," shouted out Orandi, a Brazilian fan, who was supporting France on the day.

"France just a wake up and a dead Argentina a guh dead now," he continued.

If you've ever doubted the emotional sway that football has on individuals, then Sunday's roller-coaster match would have shattered that notion.

Fellow Cheers to the Cup co-host Shanel Lemmie, for much of the first 80 minutes of the game, kept enquiring "a weh France deh? A wah really a gwan?".

Like all the other jubilant Argentina supporters there, I was basking in the moment. At one point, while the score was at 2-0, I unwittingly dared the footballing gods to make the match a more enticing one.

"Dis yah match boring, it wah some spice and entertainment. Dis cannot be a World Cup final," I prematurely bragged, with a cynical grin in the direction of Lemmie and several non-Argentina fans.

"Yuh nuh see is a wall of shame that over deh so," I said while pointing to a row of patrons decked out in Brazil attire.

The group of Argentina supporters were chanting, 'bad-mouthing' and even making bold predictions of a 3-0 shut out when Mbappe slammed in his first of three goals from the penalty spot.

"A it this now," said Kirk Simpson, an ardent Brazil supporter. He had seen an opening. "Once unuh mek France score with 10 minutes left inna di game, a it that," added Simpson, the uncle of female sprint champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.

His words came to pass, 96 seconds later Mbappe scored again. The game was now locked at 2-2 and Argentina supporters, myself included, were now looking for the quietest corner. The noise inside was simply deafening.

"Messi mess up!" remarked Orando 'Marshall' Smith, who earlier predicted a win for France during a 3-a-side football competition organised by T HE STAR.

In the end, Argentina, who were brilliant then sloppy, emerged victorious 4-2 on penalties to overcome a France outfit that looked anything but themselves for the majority of the game, despite drawing 3-3 during regular and extra time.

It was time for La Albicelestes to exhale. For the first time in 36 years, after the legendary Diego Maradona led Argentine to their second title, the World Cup is on its way to Buenos Aries.