Both teams have won the World Cup twice in history. At the same time, the French will have to defend the title they won four years ago in Russia. As for the Albicelesta, the last time they won the World Cup was in 1986 with the legendary Diego Maradona in the lineup. Who will take this time? We’ll find out tonight. In the meantime, let’s imagine the teams that made it to the World Cup final.
Argentine national team
Photo: REUTERS/Molly Darlington
Nickname: “Albicelesta” (white-blue)
Coach: Lionel Scaloni
Captain: Lionel Messi
Most appearances: Lionel Messi (171 games)
Top scorer of all time: Lionel Messi (96 goals)
Place in the FIFA ranking: 3
Most Valuable Player: Lionel Messi (50 million euros)
Cost of all players: 645 million euros
Participation in the World Cup: 18
World Cup titles: 2
Silver medals: 3
World Cup 2022 top scorer: Lionel Messi (5 goals)
Road to the 2022 World Cup final
Argentina started the tournament with a sensational defeat of Saudi Arabia (1:2), after which there was a chance that the Albicelesta would not leave the group at all. But Lionel Scaloni’s team got together and still made it to the playoffs.
In the 1/8 and especially the 1/4 finals against the Netherlands, the Argentines had to be nervous. At first, they narrowly defeated Australia (2:1), after which, in perhaps the brightest match of the 2022 World Cup, they beat the oranges on penalties (2:2, 4:3).
Surprisingly, the semifinal match against the Croats turned out to be the easiest for Messi and company, in which the South Americans scored two goals before the break, and then added one more – 3:0. As a result, Argentina will participate for the sixth time in the decisive match of the World Cup. Only Germany has more: eight.
Appointment
“The French team is not only Mbappé. It has many dangerous players. Kylian is young and can still grow as a footballer. I have already decided what tactics we will have. The idea is to give the opponent problems, but also to suffer as little as possible ourselves. to Messi, if this is his last game for the national team, then a better plot cannot be imagined. We will try to win the trophy,” said Lionel Scaloni, coach of the Argentine national team. equipment.
Approximate composition for the final according to “RG”: Emiliano Martínez, Nahuel Molina, Nicolás Otamendi, Christian Romero, Marcos Acuña, Rodrigo De Paul, Leandro Paredes, Enzo Fernández, Alexis Mac Allister, Julián Álvarez, Lionel Messi.
France national team
Photo: MANAN VATSYAYANA / AFP
Nickname: “Tricolors”
Coach: Didier Deschamps
Captain: Hugo Lloris
Most appearances: Hugo Lloris (144 appearances)
All-time top scorer: Olivier Giroud (53 goals)
Place in the FIFA ranking: 4
Most valuable player: Kylian Mbappé (160 million euros)
Cost of all footballers: 1,030 million euros
Participation in the World Cup: 16
World Cup titles: 2
Silver medals: 1
Bronze medals: 2
World Cup 2022 top scorer: Kylian Mbappé (5 goals)
Road to the 2022 World Cup final
Thanks to two victories in the first two rounds over Australia (4:1) and Denmark (2:1), the “tricolores” reached the 1/8 final without too many problems, after which they defeated Poland (3:1 ) in regulation time, and then England (2:1) with Morocco (2:0).
The most difficult thing for Didier Deschamps’ team turned out to be a confrontation with the British, in which everything could have ended differently, if Harry Kane had scored a penalty at the end.
In any case, Deschamps’s wards in the second consecutive World Cup draw reach the decisive match. France is the sixth team to reach the world championship final twice in a row. Only Italy (1934 and 1938) and Brazil (1958 and 1962) managed to defend the title. In addition, the French will participate in the World Cup final for the third time in the 21st century and the fourth time in the last seven editions of the competition.
Appointment
“I don’t have a lot of anxiety or stress before the final match. When you prepare for those games, you have to stay focused, be calm. Our task is to win the title. I know it in Argentina, as well as many people around the world, and maybe some The French expect Messi to become world champion, but we will do everything possible to achieve our goal,” French coach Didier Deschamps said.
Estimated lineup for the RG final: Hugo Lloris, Jules Künde, Dayot Upamecano, Rafael Varane, Theo Hernandez, Adrien Rabiot, Aurélien Tchouameni, Antoine Griezmann, Ousmane Dembele, Kylian Mbappe, Olivier Giroud.
where we will look
December 18, Sunday, “TV Party”
18.00 Argentina – France. Live broadcast.
