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The World Cup final will be much more for Argentina and France than just a Messi vs. Mbappe match.

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Who: France vs. Argentina in the World Cup final

Where: Doha’s Lusail Iconic Stadium

When: 6 p.m. on Sunday, December 18. (15:00 GMT)

Ranking: Argentina (3), France (4)

Twelve games have been played head-to-head; six have been won by Argentina, three by France, and three have been in draws.

Hot takes after hot takes have centered on the matchup of the Number 10s—Lionel Argentina’s Messi and France’s Kylian Mbappe—ahead of Sunday’s World Cup final.

Messi, the Magician and perhaps the greatest football player to ever play on a video game system is approaching retirement. The extraordinary talent Mbappe, who is only 23 years old and has only two fewer World Cup goals than Messi, is set to unseat the 35-year-old Argentine as the finest player in the world.

Naturally, though, it is more difficult than that.

Messi may have been the center of attention for Argentina teams in previous years, but as he gets older, his job in La Albiceleste has evolved beyond that of a playmaker supreme, inspiring his teammates and waiting for the right opportunity to work a little magic. It also works.

Argentina, led by Messi, recognizes that football is a team sport.

France is also more than Mbappe. There’s no guarantee the 2018 champions would have advanced this far if they had any of their international players, like the injured Karim Benzema, Paul Pogba, and N’Golo Kante, on the field. Due to their absence, Mbappe has garnered the attention of the international media as well as defensive lines throughout the tournament. And it has given Olivier Giroud, a seasoned performer, and the very versatile Antoine Griezmann the time and space to thrive.

When questioned about the two superstar and PSG colleagues who have both scored five goals so far in the tournament in Qatar, Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said to reporters on Saturday, “Tomorrow’s game is Argentina against France, much more than Messi vs Mbappe.”

“I believe that both sides have the necessary equipment, and other players, not only those two, may determine the game. Leo Messi is doing great, and let’s hope the game goes our way. However, because Argentina and France are playing, there are a lot of players that may impact the outcome.

Several players who had been out for the previous several days due to sickness returned to the team’s training session on Saturday, giving France a boost. Raphael Varane, Ibrahima Konate, and Kingsley Coman were not present for the prior two training sessions, and Adrien Rabiot and Dayot Upamecano were absent from France’s 2-0 semifinal triumph over Morocco. But head coach Didier Deschamps, one of just three people to have won the World Cup as both a player and a coach, will have access to all five players.

Deschamps told reporters on Saturday, “The France squad has always been for me the most wonderful thing that has occurred to me in my professional life.”

“I had a wonderful playing experience, and now I get to enjoy it much more as a coach. After ten years, the degree of enthusiasm is still at an extremely high level. I’m thus glad, happy, and delighted to be in this situation.

historical period

Argentina and France both have two World Cup victories to their names: the former in 1978 and 1986 and the latter in 1998 and 2018.

However, the Doha spectators appear to feel that Argentina’s day for a third triumph has arrived, and the white and sky-blue will predominate in the almost 90,000-capacity Lusail Stadium.

Argentina supporters traveled to Qatar in greater numbers due to the possibility of Messi winning the World Cup in his most recent competition; it was believed that at least 40,000 of them were in the stadium.

We all think that today will be Messi’s day, said Cordoba instructor Ricardo Schwarz, whose voice was raspy after screaming Argentina anthems for more than an hour.

He said, “I still don’t have a ticket, but I haven’t given up hope yet. They are available, but they are pricey.

On WhatsApp groups created to swap seats at the stadium, fans reported to the AFP news agency that tickets with a face value of $750 were being offered for more than $4,000 each.

Additionally, Deschamps stated that he anticipates a biased environment: “They sing a lot and are extremely expressive. That’s great. Even though it’s the World Cup final, neither of our competitors is present.

This is the eleventh time a South American and a European nation have faced off in a World Cup final.

The French have come out strong to take a first-half lead in both the quarterfinal versus England and the semifinal versus Morocco. They have then been content to soak up pressure and play on the counterattack, a strategy that also worked during the nation’s run at the World Cup title four years ago.

Can it, especially with Messi in such brilliant form, succeed against Argentina?

Hugo Lloris, the captain of France, who is attempting to become the first person to lead a team to the World Cup trophy twice, stated that “things always happen in a match for which you are not prepared.” “In those situations, you need to demonstrate strong teamwork, as well as the ability to perform double duty and dig deep when the going gets difficult.

You can see that everyone on Argentina’s talented team, which also includes a large number of up-and-coming young players, is committed to Leo Messi.