Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe will be aiming to emulate the greats when Argentina and France square off at the Lusail Iconic stadium today.
Messi will have his last shot at the only trophy that has eluded his illustrious career, and also match the 1986 achievement of the great Diego Armando Maradona by leading Argentina to world cup glory.
Maradona is fondly remembered for single-handedly leading Argentina to that world cup trophy, and with five goals and three assists, Lionel Messi is pretty much doing the same thing with this Argentine side and will be hoping to go all the way in his second shot at the trophy.
Should Kylian Mbappe and France go on to win the world cup, the French star will equal Pele’s 1962 record of winning his first two World Cups and doing so at the age of 23.
After equaling another of the Legend’s goal-record at a World Cup tournament as a teenager in 2018, Mbappe will feel it is his destiny to equal Pele once again.
Reigning South American champions, Argentina, led by the talismanic Lionel Messi are a compact disciplined side that are no fun to play against, they are a physical side that are very effective on the counter.
France are the defending champions and have plenty of experience in their squad, despite some major changes forced by injury, Les Bleus, still have the likes of Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann and Hugo Lloris in their ranks – players that know how to win a World Cup final.
Unlike in 2018 Olivier Giroud has found his scoring boots with four goals in this tournament, he’s only behind teammate Mbappe and Argentina’s captain.
Whatever the outcome of the final, it will make for a beautiful World Cup story of how the legendary Argentine attained greatness at the peak of his career or how a young sensation from France led the nation to two consecutive World Cup triumphs.
With both teams on two stars, it’s a race for the third World Cup honor for either side in Qatar.
