Almost a month after the kick-off, after 63 intense games that faced 32 teams, this Sunday, December 18, the big day arrived: the World Cup final in Qatar. Leo Messi's Argentina or Kylian Mbappé's France, current holder of the title, will be the next world champion team after the final whistle at the Lusail stadium.
The albiceleste team and the blues will face each other in the most important match in the world of football starting at 4:00 p.m. and it will be seen on La1 and on Gol Mundial, in addition to being able to follow minute by minute through the La Vanguardia website.
The French, with a roster of high-calibre forwards and great physical strength in all lines, seek to retain the title and add their third world star, while the Argentines are also seeking their third title 36 years later, since Maradona guided the albiceleste in the 1986 Mexico edition.
This time, Argentina surrenders to Messi, without a doubt the great protagonist of the World Cup, author of five goals, especially beautiful the last one in the semifinal against Croatia. The former Barça player, now at PSG as Mbappé, is looking for the long-awaited world championship in his fifth participation in a World Cup event.
"The game is Argentina against France. Beyond Messi and Mbappé, we believe that we both have the necessary weapons so that the game can be decided by other players, apart from the two of them," said the Argentine coach, Lionel, before the final. Scaloni, who was "proud and very enthusiastic" at the time of the selection and also grateful to the fans, "the best fans in the world."
Argentina has reached the final despite the debacle in its debut, when it lost against all odds against Saudi Arabia (1-2). Then they beat Mexico (2-0) and Poland (0-2) to go to the round of 16, where they eliminated Australia (2-1) with a final scare. In the quarterfinals they beat the Netherlands on penalties after a game that turned into a battle, with very ugly gestures on both sides, and finally they beat Croatia to be in the final (3-0).
"He needs calm and serenity, and to focus on what is happening on the field. He is in a good disposition, before the start of the competition and since he arrived with us. I have no intention of disturbing his calm or his state of mind. He is focused on the final", said his coach, Didier Deschamps, for his part about Mbappé, in addition to explaining that they are taking "the maximum precautions" to prevent more players from catching a virus that has already affected Dayot Upamecano, Adrien Rabiot , Kingsley Coman, Raphael Varane and Ibrahima Konate.
France sealed the pass in the group stage beating Australia (4-1) and Denmark (2-1) and in the third game they lost with many substitutes against Tunisia (1-0). They defeated Poland (3-1) in the round of 16 with relative ease and in the quarterfinals they overcame their most difficult obstacle so far, an England that deserved more and had extra time on a penalty missed by Harry Kane (1-2). In the semifinals they eliminated the revelation Morocco (2-0).
