Football fans across the globe will stay glued to their television sets to savour the grand finale of the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The thrilling clash today is between defending champions, France and Argentina. Both would be attempting to win their third title in the history of the tournament.
Argentina won the coveted trophy in 1978 and 1986. It lost in the finals in 1930, 1990, and 2014. While France won the trophy in 1998 and 2018, it lost in the 2006 final.
As Messi will be hoping to put behind him the disappointment resulting from the 2014 final failure, he is one win away from cementing his status as one of the greatest-ever players to grace the game of football.
In Qatar 2022, the Argentine captain’s performance has been outstanding so far, as he, almost single-handedly dragged Argentina to final just like Diego Maradona stamped himself indelibly on Argentina’s 1986 win in Mexico, and Brazil striker, Ronaldo wrote a redemption story in Yokohama in their 2002 triumph.
This tournament’s edition will be known as Messi’s World Cup if he inspires victory against France in today’s final.
On the other hand, France will be looking forward to become the first nation since Brazil in 1962 to retain the World Cup with their mercurial player, Kylian Mbappe, who has been the shinning light for the French team, also aiming to win the second World Cup title of his career, having already achieved the feat in 2018, and also ensure his country wins their third title.
Argentina has scored 12 goals at this World Cup, and Messi netted five of those and assisted three. And as an indicator of his longevity and enduring talent, Messi’s contribution against Croatia meant he has become the first player to score and assist in four separate World Cup matches since 1966 – against Serbia in 2006 and Mexico, the Netherlands and Croatia here in Qatar.
In total, Messi has scored 11 goals at World Cups, which is the Argentina record.
The Argentina’s captain, who is now level with Mbappe in the race for the Golden Boot at Qatar with five goals, has announced that he would retire from international football for his nation after the title clash.
Meanwhile, according to reports, the winner of the FIFA World Cup 2022 final will get a whopping $42 million in prize, while the runner-up will earn $30 million. Therefore, the finalists will cherish $72 million in winnings.
The third-placed team will be given $27 million and the fourth-placed team will win $25 million
Via GUARDIAN
