Messi eyeing final chance at World Cup glory vs. Mbappe and defending champs France

And then there were two. 

France and Argentina are the last nations standing from the 32-team field at the FIFA World Cup and will square off in Sunday’s final at Lusail Stadium in a match that will officially draw a close a month of pure soccer madness in Qatar.  

Here’s some key storylines to keep in mind for Sunday’s big match. 

Lionel Messi’s last chance to win a World Cup 

By now, we all know what’s at stake for Lionel Messi. He’s earned tons of individual awards, including the Ballon d’Or on seven occasions, won everything at club level, and helped his country win last year’s Copa America. But Sunday’s game vs. France will be the 35-year-old’s final opportunity to add the one important credit that has been missing from his career CV: World Cup champion. 

This is Messi’s fifth World Cup, and it has easily been his best. The Argentine ace has started all six games for his country and played every single minute (570 in total). He’s tied with Kylian Mbappé as the tournament’s top scorer with five goals, with three of them coming in the knockout rounds. He’s converted penalty shots and scored crucial game winners. He’s been there in the moments when his country needed him the most, and he’s responded by routinely conjuring moments of pure magic. 

Some of the all-time greats never hoisted the World Cup trophy, most notably Michel Platini, Johan Cruyff, Alfredo Di Stefano. Messi is already one of the greatest of all-time, if not THE greatest, so he doesn’t need to win the World Cup. His legacy is already secured, so winning the World Cup isn’t about that. 

It’s about doing it for the people of La Bajada, the working-class neighborhood in Rosario where he grew up and learned to play the game on its dirt roads and makeshift pitches. It’s about doing it for his beloved Argentina, the soccer-crazy country he’s represented with distinction 171 times since making his national team debut in 2005. And it’s about striving to climb new heights, because that’s what every great athlete does.  

The unsung heroes for Argentina and France 

Messi and Mbappé have garnered the majority of the headlines during their teams’ respective runs to the final, which is understandable. The Paris Saint-Germain teammates are tied as the tournament’s top scorers with five goals apiece, to say nothing of the fact they are two global superstars. Chances are very good that either Messi or Mbappé will take centre stage on Sunday. But keep an eye on the unsung heroes of France and Argentina, who have played major roles in helping their countries get this far in Qatar. 

Aurélien Tchouaméni has been a key figure in France’s World Cup campaign, having started all six games for Les Bleus and logging a team-high 510 minutes of playing time (out of a possible 540). The Real Madrid defensive midfielder, still only 22, has been outstanding in anchoring the midfield and shielding the back line, while also contributing offensively — he scored the opener in France’s win over England in the quarter-finals. 

For Argentina, Alexis Mac Allister has started five of six games and won plaudits for his solid two-way play. The Brighton & Hove Albion Albion midfielder has one goal to his credit, in a win against Poland in the group stage. The 23-year-old has been a standout on the defensive end of things in the middle of the park, tirelessly working hard to win back possession for the South Americans. 

The important one-on-one matchup: Tchouaméni vs. Messi 

The 2018 World Cup in Russia, an Argentina vs. France match-up proved to be the most tantalizing games of the round of 16. Les Bleus came out on top in a thrilling match that produced seven goals. But incredibly, Messi wasn’t amongst the goal-scorers. In fact, the former Barcelona star had a quiet game, as he was effectively man marked by French midfielder N'Golo Kanté. All Messi could manage in that game was an assist on Sergio Agüero’s consolation goal in injury time. 

Four years later, France manager Didier Deschamps could employ the same strategy, and have someone shadow Messi during Sunday’s final. With Kanté unavailable — he was ruled out of this tournament due to injury — the task of staying on top of Messi would fall to Tchouaméni. 

It will be a challenging assignment for Tchouaméni, who has been an integral cog in France’s tactical structure in Qatar. He’s provided a steadying and resolute presence in central midfield while both working to recover the ball and retain possession for the French. Messi has the license to roam freely in order to follow his attacking instincts, so if Tchouaméni follows him, it could leave gaps and spaces in central midfield that Argentina could exploit 

France looks to repeat and join an elite group 

The first World Cup took place in 1930, and ever since then the winners of the men’s tournament have become part of one of the most exclusive clubs in all of sports. Only eight nations have ever lifted the trophy, and it’s been 12 years since a new team was welcomed into the fold when Spain won in South Africa. 

France claimed its first World Cup trophy on home soil in 1998 and had to wait 20 years to win it for a second time. Now, Didier Deschamps’ side is on the cusp of repeating and joining a more exclusive group. A victory over Argentina on Sunday would not only mark France’s third World Cup title, but Les Bleus would become only the third nation in the history of the men’s tournament to repeat as champions — and the first in sixty years. 

Italy was the first to win back-to-back World Cups in 1934 and 1938. More recently, Brazil “did the double” when it won its first World Cup in Sweden in 1958 thanks to a 17-year-old named Pele who announced himself to the world, and successfully defended its title four years later in Chile. If France are to repeat, then surely, we have to talk about this French side as one of the greatest of all time. 

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