Lionel Messi is only one game away from winning the trophy he has sought after for many years, but Kylian Mbappe stands in his way. A victory for France will be the first time in over five decades that a country has defended the World Cup.
The two players from Paris Saint-Germain FC will compete for football’s most coveted prize and the golden boot.
While France can defend the title they won a little over four years ago, Argentina will be anxious to put their nightmare in Brazil to rest after they lost to Germany in the final there in 2014.
Both sets of fans will have a sense of déjà vu, and the enthralling final has all the ingredients for a belter. The onus will be on who wants it the most.
It will be intriguing to see how both sets of defenders handle the immense amount of threat Messi and Mbappe pose given their stellar performances for their respective nations.
The French team has continued to rely heavily on Mbappe as their center of gravity; the 23-year-old has 9 goals in 15 games in just two competitions.
Mbappe remained a threat to the opposition’s defense despite failing to score in their matches against England and Morocco, respectively, in the quarterfinals and semifinals.
He scored twice in their 4-3 triumph over Argentina in the 2018 World Cup, and he will undoubtedly want to increase that tally this evening at the Qatar edition where he has already scored 5 goals to be in contention for the golden boot.
Lionel Messi has also scored five goals and assisted on three occasions at the 2022 World Cup.
His performance is worthy of lifting any cup, and the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner will be eager to emulate his fellow countryman, the great Diego Maradona who won the World Cup once, but the responsibility at hand is not easy, and a game against the reigning champions can’t be regarded as a walk in the park.
Though many Argentine fans and Messi sympathizers can’t seem to picture Messi losing another World Cup final, it is for this reason that it certainly looks like this could be his time.
For over a decade, the world of football has been divided into two camps as many fans debated who is better between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, but perhaps a World Cup triumph this evening for the South American forward will be enough to eclipse the Portuguese man and settle this debate once and for all.
Meanwhile, Mbappe and his nation are the first team to play in consecutive World Cup finals since Brazil in 2002 and will aim to win the prestigious trophy for the second time in a row when they face Argentina at Lusail Stadium.
