World Cup Final: Will Argentina get over the hump or will France repeat as champions?

There are only two days left until soccer's world champion is crowned. The Lusail Stadium will host the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 final between France and Argentina on Sunday. Almost 100,000 fans will be in attendance to watch two of the sport's brightest stars: Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé. Both nations hope to win their third World Cup.

"La Albiceleste" and "Les Bleus" have both overcome a difficult path to reach the World Cup final, each with its own style and philosophy. France struggled in their semifinal matchup but was able to take down the tournament's Cinderella, Morocco. Argentina, on the other hand, soundly defeated the reigning runners-up Croatia, avoiding a repeat of the 2018 World Cup final.

Date and time of the final

Sunday 12/18/2022 10:00 EST:

Argentina vs. France

Argentina looking to break losing streak

Thirty-six years ago, Diego Armando Maradona and Jorge Valdano led "La Albiceleste" to a World Cup title in Mexico. While this was the last time that Argentina lifted the trophy, they reached the final in both 1990 and in 2014, losing to Germany on both occasions.

Argentina has won five of the six matches it has played in Qatar. Their only slip-up came in their opening match, when Saudi Arabia pulled off the first big upset of the World Cup, defeating them 2-1. It was a disappointing start for Argentina, but it served as a wakeup call. Since that setback, they have emerged victorious in every match, including in round of 16 when they defeated the Netherlands via penalty shootout.

Lionel Scaloni's team is led by the experience of veterans such as Lionel Messi and Ángel Di María, but it is complemented with the energy and effort of younger players such as Enzo Fernández and Julián Álvarez. They are looking to flip the narrative for Argentina in this game, as the country has actually lost more World Cup finals than it has won.

France champions again?

"Les Bleus" will have the chance to become only the third team to win back to back World Cups. The only teams to do it were Italy (1934 and 1938) and Brazil (1958 and 1962).

France's record in Qatar is similar to Argentina's. They have also been defeated only once, also by a heavy underdog (Tunisia), though it came in the final match of the group stage. It is also worth noting that, unlike Argentina, Didier Deschamps' team had already booked its place in the round of 16 at the time of the loss. The rest of France's matches have resulted in victories.

Deschamps' team has a clear objective in each match: dominate the ball and get out on the run. The speed and physicality of the French team allow them to overpower their opponents, and they use this athleticism to their advantage.

Mbappé vs. Messi

The brightest lights will fall upon two of the biggest stars in the game. During the rest of the year, they are teammates for Paris Saint-Germain, but their friendship will have to be put aside on Sunday. They know each other's strengths and weaknesses on the field and can advise their teammates on how to contain their opponent's star. Both are in the running for the Golden Ball award, for the tournament's best player, as well as the Golden Boot, for the top scorer.

Messi is staring down the only empty box on his long list of career achievements: winning the World Cup with Argentina in what will surely be his last. It would put a cap on the near-perfect career of who many consider to be the greatest footballer of all time. In Qatar, Messi joined the exclusive club of players who have played in five World Cups and, at the age of 35, has performed just as well if not better than anyone in their fifth tournament.

Messi's adversary, Mbappé, continues to shock the soccer world. At just 23 years of age, he is only one win away from his second World Cup. If his career continues on the same trajectory, he is destined to be one of the greatest players in soccer history.

History of France vs. Argentina

The two teams have met 12 times, with the advantage going to Argentina. "La Albiceleste" have won six times, while France has won just three. The other three matches ended in draws.

They have faced each other three times in the World Cup, twice ending in a victory for the Argentinians and once for the French. The first time they met in the tournament was in the first ever World Cup (Uruguay, 1930), which resulted in a 1-0 victory for Argentina.

In the 1978 World Cup held in Argentina, the hosts won 2-1 and in 2018, it was France who won 4-3 in one of the most exciting World Cup matches in recent memory.

Eleventh final between Europeans and South Americans

This match will be the eleventh time that Europe and South America will meet in a World Cup final. The previous 10 have resulted in seven victories for South America and three to Europe.

The most recent occurrence was at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. when Germany defeated Argentina 1-0 with an extra-time goal from Mario Götze.

Highest scoring team and player

France (13 goals) is currently tied with England as the top-scoring team at the Qatar World Cup. Argentina (12) would need a two goal cushion in Sunday's match to secure the team scoring lead outright.

On the other hand, Mbappé and Messi are the top scorers of the tournament so far with five goals each. Olivier Giroud, France's all-time leading scorer at World Cups, and Julian Alvarez, one of the tournament's breakout players, who have both scored four.