The World Cup final will feature France and Argentina. There is a time and a place for this.
The final of the World Cup will take place on the stage. On December 18 at 10 a.m., Lionel Messi and Argentina will play Kylian Mbappe and France. There is an hour and a half later.
Will Messi match Diego Maradona's feat of becoming the GOAT? The last time a back-to-back champ was done was 60 years ago. We can't wait for Sunday's game at the Lusail stadium.
We will bring you the latest from the tournament, so be sure to keep an eye out for us. As we count down to Sunday's final, here's what you might have missed.
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Can it be Monday? We have three full days before the World Cup final and two before the third-place match between Croatia and Morocco, so we will have plenty of time to break down and preview before then. Before France and Argentina take center stage, we need to look at a few key points.
Argentina is the favorite to win the title over France according to FiveThirtyEight.
France and Argentina will be trying to win their third World Cup title. Germany, Italy, and Brazil have more than one side. Les Bleus and La Albiceleste will be aiming for their second title outside as non- hosts, with both of Sunday's final winners having won their first home title.
The two teams have played in four World Cup matches. France defeated Argentina in a round of 16 game four years ago, while Argentina defeated France in the group stage. Argentina leads the head- to-head series.
Taylor Twellman made a comparison between Lionel Messi and KylianMbappe.
There is plenty of starpower on both teams, but the focus will be on Messi and Mbappe. They are teammates at Paris Saint-Germain and they are the tournament's top scorer with five goals.
Club teammates have never finished 1-2 in the Golden Boot race. The player with the most assists will be the winner. The player with the least minutes played is the one who is tied.
Messi will surpass Lothar Matthaus for the most World Cup appearances by a male player on Sunday. Messi passed Gabriel Batistuta for the most goals in Argentina history, while Maradona had eight.
The second youngest player to ever win a World Cup title is Kylian Mbappe. It would be an impressive achievement for the young man, with only one other man ahead of him by his 22nd birthday.
Morocco lost to France in the semifinals of the World Cup.
The Morocco squad became the first team from Africa to reach the semifinals of the World Cup even if they didn't win. The Atlas Lions were the first team from an Arab nation to make the final four.
Morocco showed that teams outside of Europe and South America can compete on the World Cup stage after beating favored sides Belgium, Spain, and Portugal along the way. The defeat against France was undone by injuries and uncharacteristic mistakes in defense, but history was made.
Some of the players in Walid Regragui's team are well-known, but others are less well known.
After losing an early goal to Theo Hernandez, Morocco gave France several scares before Kolo Muani's late goal sealed the match for France. They will return from Qatar as heroes despite the loss. On paper, the third-place match against Croatia is meaningless. It is a chance to leave the World Cup on a high note.
Argentina's victory was a team effort. It was Messi's magic that made the difference.
Argentina had sputtered throughout this World Cup. Not in the semifinals, though. They trounced Croatia. They didn't even need Lionel Messi's magic.
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