Following a month of thrilling action in Qatar, the 2022 World Cup final will go down at Lusail Stadium on Sunday – with Argentina and France set to battle it out for the trophy.
Argentina booked their place in the final with a 3-0 victory over Croatia, while France punched their ticket to the showpiece with a 2-0 win against Morocco.
Can Les Blues secure back-to-back World Cup triumphs? Or will Lionel Messi fire Argentina to a first WC title since 1986? It’s time to take a closer look at both sides.
Argentina suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia in their opening match, casting doubt on their ability to lift the trophy. Since then, however, they have been much improved.
Following 2-0 victories over Mexico and Poland, the South American champions knocked out Australia and the Netherlands before crushing Croatia in the semi-finals.
Julian Alvarez bagged a brace against Croatia, while Messi scored and assisted. The PSG superstar now has five goals and three assists in six games in Qatar.
When you look at the bigger picture, Argentina have lost just one of their previous 42 games across all competitions. Needless to say, that is a remarkable record.
On the flip side, France kicked off their campaign with a 4-1 victory over Australia. They went on to beat Denmark 2-1 before suffering a surprise 1-0 loss to Tunisia.
Although Les Blues have not set the world alight during the knockout phase, they managed to dispatch Poland, England and Morocco to reach a fourth WC final in seven attempts.
Unsurprisingly, Kylian Mbappe has been the star of the show – bagging five goals and two assists in Qatar. But the efforts of Olivier Giroud and Antoine Griezmann have also been immense.
It is worth noting that France have not trailed at half-time in any of their past 13 World Cup games, indicating that Didier Deschamps’ men invariably get off to a strong start.
Head-to-head: Argentina and France last met during the 2018 World Cup. The French came out on top on that occasion, claiming a memorable 4-3 victory.
The teams have faced each other 12 times over the years, with Argentina claiming six wins and France claiming three. The last of the three draws came all the way back in 1977.
Team news: Argentina welcome back Marcos Acuna and Gonzalo Montiel from suspension. However, Papu Gomez is a doubt due to an ankle injury.
As for France, Ibrahima Konate and Youssouf Fofana replaced the ill duo of Dayot Upamecano and Adrien Rabiot in the semi-finals. Deschamps will be hoping to have a fully-fit squad come Sunday.
The World Cup final is destined to be a close-fought battle between two attacking teams. Both sides are expected to score, but the contest could go all the way.
Forebet predicts that Argentina and France will produce a thrilling spectacle at Lusail Stadium. A high-scoring draw is on the cards, meaning extra-time and/or penalties will likely be required to determine the winner.
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