In the final of the FIFA World Cup 2022 Argentina and France will be seen locking horns in Qatar, on Sunday. After the riveting group stage, which saw plenty of upsets, the Round of 16 and quarter-finals raised the intensity as many pre-tournament favourites bowed out whereas Morocco surprised one and all and is set to play the second semi-final, facing defending champions France on Thursday (December 15). Meanwhile, Argentina became the first side to qualify for the final courtesy of Lionel Messi and Julian Alvarez’s blitz.
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Argentina won the coveted title in 1978 and 1986 while France achieved the honours in 1998 and 2018. Besides the two teams, the epic title clash will be a rivalry of sorts between two superstars of the game- Kylian Mbappe of France and Lionel Messi of Argentina. Both Mbappe and Messi are jointly tied with five goals as the highest goal-scorer in the tournament thus far. Both will try to get the better of each other in their bid to win the third ever title for their respective nations and also for individual accomplishment of winning the Golden Boot, which is awarded to the highest goal-scorer in an edition of the World Cup. Here is a comparison between the two:-
5 goals each
Lionel Messi (Argentina) – 3 assists, 570 minutes played
Kylian Mbappe (France) – 2 assists, 477 minutes played
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All eyes will also be on Argentina’s Julian Alvarez and France’s Olivier Giroud who are jointly tied with four goals in the race for the Golden Boot. Both will have the opportunity to get past Mbappe and Messi and claim the coveted reward which promises eternal glory. Here is a comparison between the two:-
4 goals each
Julian Alvarez (Argentina) – 0 assists, 364 minutes played
Olivier Giroud (France) – 0 assists, 383 minutes played
Argentina captain Messi has already announced his decision of retirement from international football for Argentina after the final on Sunday. His decision hots up the stakes for him on an individual level. On the other hand, Mbappe is eyeing a spectacular achievement of winning back to back World Cup titles as he was also a part of the 2018 World Champion team.
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