To load for the Argentina – France match together with Parimatch!
December 18 at the World Cup in Qatar will be the last meeting. In the final match for the title of the Mundial winner at the Lusail stadium, the reigning world champion – the French team – and the South American champion – the Argentine team will meet. The start of the meeting is at 17:00 Kyiv time.
Argentina
The South American champion began his climb to the 2022 World Cup final with a sensation, losing to Saudi Arabia 1-2. But then Scaloni’s team recovered quickly. And then he just won.
In good style, the Argentines won the remaining two matches of the group stage by the same score 2-0 – against the national teams of Mexico and Poland.
In the round of 16, the Latinos were not so bright in the match against Australia, but still achieved a natural victory of 2:1.
The quarter-final against the Netherlands is without a doubt the most exciting and action-packed match of the 2022 World Cup. It had it all: nice goal combinations and a fantastic comeback. And a lot of yellow cards. And the victory of the Argentines on penalties.
In the semifinals, Argentina defeated the Croatian national team 3-0 without problems and adventures, after having retaliated in this way for a similar defeat at the 2018 Mundial.
The final of the Qatar World Cup for Albiseleste is already the sixth in the team’s history. So far the statistics are negative: two wins against three losses.
Argentina won the World Cup in 1978 (at home) and in 1986 when it was led by the wonderful Maradona.
However, in 1930, 1990 and 2014, the Argentines lost the final.
It would be superfluous to recall that the current final for the Argentine national team is 95 percent viewed from the angle of Lionel Messi’s figure. Only the lazy did not say that the 2022 World Cup will be the last for the great Argentine, and he really wants to become a world champion – to win the only title that he has not yet relinquished to him.
It is worth noting that Leo’s claims about Qatari gold are very solid. During the tournament, the Argentine captain adds from match to match. He has five hits and three assists to his credit. But the main thing he has on his account is a solid and inspired game that allows you to make a difference.
There is no doubt that Messi will play the “concert violin” in the final.
Although, at the same time, it should be noted that the current Argentine national team is not only Messi. Like Leo, his partners also add game after game. Scaloni managed to do what many of his predecessors failed to do: stabilize the team’s game, improve the interaction of all links and find the right balance.
Lionel Messi, Argentina Captain:
“I am proud to be able to end my World Cup career by playing in this final. What I’m experiencing right now is something exciting. Without a doubt this final will be my last match at the Mundials. There is still a long way to go until the next tournament in 2026 and I don’t think I will. Therefore, I hope to conclude my presentations in the best possible way.
France
Few people expected such agility from the reigning world champions. And on the eve of the Mundial, and literally a few days before the start of the “tricolor” season, Deschamps did what he crossed out of his list of injured players, replacing them with the closest reserve. Didier has decided to leave an injured player – Benzema, hoping that the owner of the Ballon d’Or – 2022 will be able to recover during the tournament. Karim is said to have already recovered from his injury but is unlikely to play in the final.
However, despite serious problems with the squad, the French made it through the group stage without a doubt. Australia was defeated 4:1, then beat Denmark – 2:1 and was awarded a ticket to the playoffs in advance. In a decisive duel against Tunisia, the French experimental team lost 0:1.
In the first round of the playoffs, the current world champions confidently faced the Poles – 3:1. In the quarterfinals, they really had to suffer against the formidable England, but, nevertheless, the match ended in their favor – 2:1. One step before the final, the Deschamps wards calmly defeated the main sensation of the current World Cup – the Moroccan team – 2:0.
And now the current title holder will defend it in the decisive match. Well, the truth is, few believed in such a turn of events.
Interestingly, only two teams in the history of the world championships have managed to defend their title. The Italians did it first: they became champions in 1934, and four years later they tried again for the championship crown.
The second “test” attempt is the authorship of the great Brazilian team: 1958 and 1962.
For the French team, the upcoming World Cup final will be the fourth in its history. And two out of three attempts for the Musketeers were successful.
They first reached the Mundial final in 1998, at their home world championship. And they defeated Brazil – 3:0. Eight years later, the French again played in the final. But this time they lost to the Italians on penalties. These two matches are united by the figure of Zidane. In the first case Zinedine became the hero of the brawl, scoring two goals, and in the second case he became an anti-hero due to a skirmish with Materazzi and being sent off.
The Frenchman’s third outing in the final was successful for the team. Four years ago, Deschamps’ team defeated Croatia 4-2 in the final match.
If for Argentina the future final is indicative, primarily significant from the point of view of Messi, his last Mundial, on which Leo wants to put not only a nice exclamation point, but also bet on another Ballon d’Or, then even the French have a similar story. It may be inferior in sonority and sentimentality to the Argentine, but still. It’s about Mbappé.
The leader of the French attack is one of the best players in the Qatar Mundial. He won’t leave his national team after the 2022 World Cup, but if he wins, he can not only claim victory in the upcoming Ballon d’Or referendum, but also make a good bid to officially end the era of Messi and Ronaldo. And the era of Mbappe began.
Didier Deschamps, France coach
– Argentina have a very strong player and Messi is the one who makes the difference. A great battle awaits us. Argentina is an aggressive team, but it’s good aggression.
Messi has been fantastic from the start of the tournament. Four years ago things were different. He started the match not in the position we expected, but finished it as a striker. Now they have a striker and Messi has a lot of freedom. He often meets the ball and looks in great form.
Messi is the best player in the world or one of the best. We will have to work to limit his impact on the game as much as possible. They will do the same with some of my players. But this is not the Argentina we played four years ago.
Personal meetings
The 2022 World Cup final will be the 13th head-to-head for the opponents. For some, this number will surely bring happiness, but for someone, it will certainly only bring disappointment. So far, a tangible advantage is on the side of the Argentines: six victories against three French victories. The rest of the matches ended in a draw.
At the World Cup, the opponents met only three times. Twice he won the “albiseleste”, one victory in the “tricolor”. The last match between rivals at the world championships took place four years ago. Then the French met Messi’s team in the first round of the playoffs and celebrated a 4:3 victory. At that tournament, Deschamps’ wards became world champions.
Forecast for comparison
For any ending, none should be set additionally. Especially for a final like this. However, a small (or large) exception to the rule can still be made in this case. The surname of this “exception” is Messi. The Argentinian captain has clarified that the current Mundial will be his last as an Albiceleste player. And one of the best footballers in world history will surely do everything to fill his richest museum of trophies and titles with the missing detail. If Messi wins the World Cup, he can be considered not “one of”, but the greatest footballer in the history of this game. And this is understood not only by millions of fans around the world, but also by Leo himself.
Argentina’s chances of winning look, in our opinion, more favourable. Over the course of the tournament, the Latinos improved markedly, which cannot be said about the French. Scaloni has managed to stabilize not only the composition, but also the game of the team. But Deschamps still lacks the necessary balance between defense and attack in this tournament (shooting for attack).
It seems that the most realistic bet at the moment is “both teams will score”. Suppose the Argentina national team can score one more goal than their opponent.
Approximate compositions:
Argentina: E. Martinez, Acuña, Otamendi, Romero, Molina, McAllister, Fernandez, Paredes, De Paul, Alvarez, Messi
France: Lloris, Kunde, Varane, Conate, Hernandez, Rabiot, Tchouameni, Dembele, Griezmann, Mbappe, Giroud.
December 18, Sunday
To load for the Argentina – France match together with Parimatch!
