Argentina hasn’t been able to win the world cup since 1986, therefore they’re hoping to add one more star to their jersey. With two championships already under their belt, France will attempt to become the first team since Brazil in 1962 to win the trophy again in a row.
Overview
Lionel Messi will play his final international match for Argentina tonight, following fellow football luminaries Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Suarez, Robert Lewandowski, Luka Modric, and Manuel Neuer who made their final world cup appearances in Qatar 2022. Future greats like Kylian Mbappe and Julian Alvarez will also have a chance to win it for their squad in this game.
Argentina
This will be Argentina’s fifth game at the Lusail Stadium in this tournament (out of a total of seven games). The Albicelestes’ opening match against Saudi Arabia was lost at the same location. Additionally, Lionel Scaloni’s guys have continued to win there ever since. Almost every item on Messi’s football bucket list has been crossed off, with the exception of the World Cup, which is the biggest of them all.
At Qatar 2022, Argentina will have the chance to give the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner an appropriate sendoff after winning five straight games. Messi is aware that one person’s efforts cannot win the world’s largest athletic event, though. The entire group must perform tonight. The only other team to advance to the world cup final following a defeat in their first game was Spain in 2010.
France
In this competition, Les Bleus will play in the Lusail Stadium for the first time, and they’ll want to make a lasting impression. Thanks to their 2-0 victory over Morocco, they will be the first defending champions in 24 years to play in a world cup final. The best thing for France is that its main players, Kylian Mbappe and Olivier Giroud, have both been in excellent form and have a chance to win the Golden Boot by scoring in the championship game.
Because France heavily relied on the player he replaced right before the world cup, reigning Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema, Giroud’s performance has been more noteworthy. Despite Morocco’s back-to-back assaults gave France pause in the semifinal, the French team managed to keep a clean sheet. Stopping Argentina from scoring will give Didier Deschamps’ team a tremendous advantage as they now strive for glory.
Head-to-Head
Since 1978, France has never fallen to a South American team in a World Cup match. Argentina, though, was the team who defeated them 44 years prior. The Albicelestes have won half of the 12 games they have played against France overall. Three games were won by France, and three others were draws.
Key Players
Mbappe and Giroud will continue to command attention, but Antoine Griezmann, who has yet to score in this tournament, will stand out. Griezmann will have one final opportunity to influence this tournament. While Angel Di Mara will also be making his final appearance, Lionel Messi will be the centre of attention. Di Mara will excel if given the chance to enter the starting lineup.
Prediction
Argentina has regularly scored more than once in each game in the FIFA World Cup 2022, with the exception of the Saudi Arabia encounter. Additionally, in this competition, no team has scored more than once against France. The South American team’s incredible propensity to score will create the ideal setting for Messi’s fairytale goodbye. 2-1 will be the final score.
When and Where you can watch ?
December 18 at 08:30 PM (Indian time) on the Sports18 and Sports18 HD TV channels in India and Jio Cinema’s app and website will both offer free live streaming of the event.
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