El Final or La Finale? Argentinian triumph or French hegemony? In what language will this world cup be reminded – the question will be answered in less than 24 hours.
The French national team will meet Argentina in the final of the World Cup. Didier Deschamps’ team reached the final of the World Cup for the second time in a row and can win the World Cup for the third time.
Les Bleus will play the fourth final, having won two of the previous three and lost one:
- 1998: France – Brazil 3:0
- 2006: France – Italy 1:1 (3:5 pen.)
- 2018: France – Croatia 4:2
Argentina will participate in the final for the sixth time, having won two of the previous five finals:
- 1930: Argentina – Uruguay 2:4
- 1978: Argentina – Netherlands 3:1
- 1986: Argentina – Germany 3:2
- 1990: Argentina – Germany 0:1
- 2014: Argentina – Germany 0:1
Messi vs Mbappe
The World Cup in Qatar had three clear favorites. It so happened that all three leaders of these teams were attackers of Paris Saint-Germain. We can already say that the PSG striker will win the World Cup.
Kylian Mbappe has a chance to win the World Cup for the second time in a row. Comparisons with Pele were frequent at the previous World Cup. No teenager has played as ‘loudly’ at the World Cup as Pele and Mbappe.
Pele won back-to-back in 1958 and 1962 but missed much of the second World Cup due to injury, and Kylian has the chance to win it back-to-back to become the tournament’s best player. To win two world championships at 23 is an incredible achievement if we take Mbappe’s contribution into account even more so.
On the other hand, Lionel Messi will try to make the best point of his career. Before the World Cup, we offered you a blog – The Last Dance. We mentioned that Messi and Ronaldo never had such chance to win the championship. One managed to reach the final, but the other could not. Only one of the two excellent football-era creators will be able to claim the world championship.
This one match, just 90 minutes, will change many things. Many professionals point out that Messi doesn’t need to prove anything, even without the World Cup, his legacy is enormous, but in reality, the World Cup changes many things. Messi’s name can’t grow more, but in the case of winning the championship, it will.
Messi said that this would be his last match at the World Cup. Maybe even in the national team. Mbappe has everything ahead of him. Currently, he will be the top chaser of Miroslav Klose for the best scorer of the World Cup.
Top Scorers
Messi and Mbappe have scored 5-5 goals in the current championship. In general, Mbappé has scored 9 goals, and Messi – has 11.
The list of the best scorers of all time is as follows:
- 11 goals: Kosic, Messi, Klinsmann;
- 12 goals: Pele;
- 13 goals: Fontaine;
- 14 goals: Gerd Müller;
- 15 goals: Ronaldo;
- 16 goals: Klose;
Lionel Messi can become the only player to become the best player of the World Cup twice. Neither Pele, Maradona, nor Zidane had such recognition.
Pele won the World Cup Golden Ball in 1970. In 1958, he received the silver ball and the title of the best teenager.
Maradona received the golden orb of the World Cup in 1986, and in 1990 he received the bronze ball.
Zidane won the Golden Ball of the World Cup in 2006, but in 1998 he did not even make it to the top three.
So, Messi will be able to set another record.
Camel Flu
Before the final, lousy news spread from the French camp. Three players infected with camel flu. Adrien Rabiot and Dayot Upamecano did not participate in the semi-final match. Later it was found out that Kingsley Coman was also infected. France has such a strong squad that they still made it to the final despite missing Presnel Kimpembe, N’Golo Kante, and Paul Pogba before the tournament started. Added to this was Karim Benzema’s injury in training and Luca Hernandez’s injury in the opening match.
In terms of such shortage of quality players being in a final is already a great success. On the one hand, it was written that the absence of Pogba and Benzema positively affected the team. On the other hand, these players stirred the internal kitchen the most.
This cannot be said about the others. Someone from the European Championship will remember Rabiot’s mother very severely, who quarreled on the stand, but the player is calm and balanced.
The medical team will ensure that the French are ready for the main game.
Everything is okay in Argentina
Before the start of the championship, Lionel Messi was suffering from an injury. He trained separately. The fans were even afraid; however, everything was sorted out during the tournament.
At the beginning of the match against the Croatians, he hurt his leg, later the existence of the injury was denied and it was noted that Messi is feeling well. Emiliano Martinez also confirmed this in an interview.
It was even written that Leo Messi was the only one who did not take advantage of a day off and stayed at training base. So everything is fine, with no injuries or flu in Argentina.
Head to Head
France and Argentina have played each other 12 times. Argentina has six wins, and France has three. Three matches ended in a draw.
They have played three times at the World Championships:
- In 1930, Argentina won -1:0
- In 1978, Argentina won again – 2:1
- In 2018, France won – 4:3
Comments
“When I left the hotel for press conference, they were sleeping. I didn’t have time to spoke with them. I haven’t got detailed information, I hope, everything will be in order,” said Deschamps about the injured players.
“We are not afraid of anything; the team has a good atmosphere. We have had difficulties, but it’s normal – there is no other way to reach the final. We are calmly preparing for the game. A few French people want Messi to be the champion, and we can’t do anything about it”, – Deschamps meant Andre-Pierre Gignac and David Trezeguet, against whom they wanted Messi to be the champion. Trezeguet’s Argentinian background makes his argumentation clear, but Gignac’s position is untold and uncleared in terms of argumentation.
“Argentina is a completely different team now than it was in 2014. From that squad seven footballers are in the team, but still it’s a completely different team. The formation is often changed, and surprises should be expected. As in the case of Morocco. We have studied the Argentina team in detail,” said Deschamps.
Comment by the captain of the French national team, Hugo Lloris:
“Argentina has always had outstanding players. They had Maradona, and now they have Messi, but this outfit is too big to be covered by one player’s name. Of course, we have to play hard against him”.
“We have the strongest team. They have a huge game and counterattack, we have many high-class players, and we aim to create an opponent”.
Lionel Scaloni commented before the final:
“Mbappe can only be stopped as a team. He is still young and will continue to progress. However, it is not only Mbappé in the French national team. He is supported by other outstanding players who make him a better player with the French team.
“Happiness is when we look at Argentina, the feeling, the mind. You know what reason you are. We have the best fans, and it’s great that we give the whole championship a reason to be happy. It all has a very positive effect on us.”
The mood is combative, the teams’ chances are estimated to be about approximately the same, and they do not rule out extra time and a series of penalty kicks. Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe are at the center of attention. Expectations are high – the best final of the World Championships in the 21st century.
