The 2022 FIFA World Cup final between Argentina and France will be played on Sunday, 18th of December, 2022 at 4:00 PM (BST) or 5:00 PM (CAT) in Qatar at the Lusail Stadium.
There has been a lot of anticipation among football fans and pundits with predictions and hopes for either of the nations to return with the trophy home. However, the biggest conversation still remains on whether Lionel Messi will lead his nation to World Cup glory or Kylian Mbappé and his nation France will defend the title.
What it Means for Messi and Argentina
Argentina last lifted the World Cup in 1986 when Diego Maradona – a football legend and Messi‘s idol led his nation to glory. Comparisons have been made between Messi and Maradona but one trophy is still missing for the Argentine football magician.
Lionel Messi has won everything there is to win – except the World Cup. Can he finally lead Argentina to win it?
The video below by MagicalMessi YouTube Channel goes back to the beginning and tells the complete story of Messi’s career with Argentina in a dramatic way. It was a tough way until his first ever international trophy, the Copa America 2021.
What it means for Mbappé and France
France are the World Cup holding champions as they won the trophy in 2018 against Croatia and they are looking forward to defending the title.
France booked their ticket in the final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup after emerging victorious against Morocco in the semi-final of the tournament.
On 17 May 2018, Mbappé was called up to the France squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. he went on to score his first World Cup goal in France‘s 1–0 group stage win over Peru. This made him the youngest French goalscorer in World Cup history at age 19.
On 30 June 2018, he was named man of the match in a 4–3 win over Argentina, scoring twice and suffering a foul in the box which resulted in Antoine Griezmann opening the score from a penalty kick. Mbappé was the second teenager to score two goals in a World Cup match after Pelé in 1958.
In a post-match press conference, Mbappé stated: “It’s flattering to be the second one after Pelé but let’s put things into context – Pelé is in another category.”
On 15 July, Mbappé scored with a 25-yard strike against Croatia in the 2018 World Cup Final, with France winning 4–2. He became the second teenager, after Pelé, to score in a World Cup Final, and with four goals in the tournament he received the FIFA World Cup Best Young Player Award. Pelé congratulated him on social media, and stated “welcome to the club”. [Wikipedia]
Kylian Mbappé has been one of the players that have massively contributed to the success of his nation over the past few years. Defending the World Cup would mark as his second and with his potential to become the next centre of eyes in the world of football along the likes of Erling Haaland, this would be masssive for Mbappé.
Watch all the FIFA World Cup assists and goals scored by Kylian Mbappé via the video below.
