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ARG VS FRA: THE FINAL CLASH OF TITANS TODAY

Argentina and France will face off in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Final today at Lusail Stadium. Their respective journeys have been more similar than distinct because both teams lost one game on the road to the championship game. After a terrible performance against Saudi Arabia, Argentina has been flawless, scoring goals and playing solid defence, while riding the Messi Magic. They just finished a nearly flawless game against Croatia, where Lionel Messi’s sensational performance helped Argentina reach their second World Cup Final in three years.

Matchup History between France and Argentina

Argentina and France have played three times previously at the FIFA World Cup. Argentina won the first two meetings in 1930 and 1978, while France knocked Argentina out of the 2018 World Cup in the Round of 16. France ended up on the winning side after a seven-goal thriller. Kylian Mbappe was introduced to the world during the 4-3 victory in 2018 when his double was a major factor in Les Blues’ advancing to the quarterfinals. Although it is a result that the Argentinians will undoubtedly not have forgotten either. Even though they have six of the previous 12 encounters between the two, they would gladly swap all of those memories if they lift the World Cup trophy on Sunday.

Journey of Argentina
Argentina has been able to improve throughout the competition to the point, where they are just inches away from a surprising World Cup victory. After they managed to defeat both Mexico and Poland in their group, their 2-1 setback to Saudi Arabia feels like a distant memory. Argentina was tested to the limit in challenging encounters against Australia and the Netherlands, but their best was yet to come as they outplayed Croatia in a superb 3-0 victory in the semifinals.The outcome of this game will probably be influenced by Messi’s antics, and if France permits him to receive the ball in space, he will harm them.

Journey of France
At this World Cup, France has never really seemed to be in peak shape. The French have nonetheless advanced to a World Cup final and given themselves a solid chance to retain the title they earned in 2018. They found it difficult to fully utilise their abundance of attacking talent against England because England outplayed them. They once again prevailed over Morocco without really appearing to be playing at their best. Against Argentina, France will be tested thoroughly. France will look to players like Kylian Mabppe to lead them.

The top four scorers from each team in the FIFA World Cup 2022 are distributed equally. With five goals each, Kylian Mbappe of France and Lionel Messi of Argentina are tied for the most goals scored at the FIFA World Cup 2022. With four goals each, Julian Alvarez (ARG) and Olivier Giroud (FRA) are tied for second. As a result, it is safe to assume that the 2022 FIFA World Cup Golden Boot race will also be decided in the Final, making it an intriguing side story to the main event. It will be France’s fourth World Cup championship game and Argentina’s sixth in the forthcoming ARG vs FRA match. France will only be the third side in history—following Italy (1934 and 1938) and Brazil to successfully defend a World Cup title if they win the 2022 World Cup final (1958 and 1962).

PLAYERS TO WATCH OUT

LIONEL MESSI, ARGENTINA

The spotlight will be on Messi throughout the Final. The 35-year-old will beat Germany’s Lothar Matthäus for the most World Cup appearances with 26 just by participating in the final. Messi now has 11 goals overall at the World Cup, making him Argentina’s all-time leading scorer with his penalty kick goal against Croatia.

KYLIAN MBAPPE, FRANCE
Mbappe had a spectacular opening to the World Cup, scoring three goals and providing one assist in France’s opening two games. Then, he contributed two goals and an assist to help Les Bleus defeat Poland 3-1 in the round of 16, surpassing his fourgoal total from the previous tournament.

JULIAN ALVAREZ, ARGENTINA
Alvarez has been one of the breakout stars in Argentina. In the round of 16, he scored the game-winning goal in a 2-1 victory over Australia, and in the semifinals, he gave his team two insurance goals. Alvarez is tied with France’s Olivier Giroud for third in the Golden Boot race with four goals, trailing Messi and Mbappe by only one goal.

OLIVIER GIROUD, FRANCE
When France lost Karim Benzema to injury ahead of the World Cup, the defending champs needed Olivier Giroud to step up - and he’s delivered. In the opening match against Australia, Olivier Giroud scored twice and added two more goals in the knockout round.

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

RAHUL FAUJDAR The writer is First India staffer & a professional cricketer representing several clubs in Rajasthan 

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