The two teams could not go for a winner at the end of the regulation time (2-2).
Lionel Messi opened the scoring with a penalty (23rd), while Angel di Maria doubled the score in the 36th minute.
Kylian Mbappé reduced the gap for Les Bleus (80th, s.p.), then equalized in the 81st minute.
During extra time, Messi gave the Albiceleste the lead again (109th), but Mbappé put the game back on track in the 118th minute.
After losing the final of the 2014 World Cup to Germany, Argentina wins its third crown after its crowns in 1978 and 1986.
For its part, France, which hoped to retain its title won in 2018, had won its first world crown in 1998.