A poster, a date, a time. The sporting event of the week is undoubtedly the final of the 2022 Argentina-France World Cup, scheduled for Sunday December 18 at 4 p.m. A final dream shock, in many ways…
[Mis à jour le 15 décembre 2022 à 19h52] The face-to-face looks intense. Sunday, December 18, 2022, the kick-off for the World Cup final in Qatar will be given at 4 p.m. Starring: Argentina v France. But for many Argentines, it will be above all Messi – Mbappé. In addition to the Albiceleste and the Blues of Didier Deschamps, the two teammates of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) will indeed compete on the lawn. After France’s victory against Morocco on Wednesday night (2-0), the Argentine media quickly set the tone. “All the channels have gone into mode: ‘Cómo parar a Mbappé?’ / ‘How to stop Mbappé?'”, reported French journalist Georges Quirino, based in Argentina, at the microphone of After Foot on RMC. For whom the genius of Bondy “left some trauma” in 2018, after his double in the round of 16 at the World Cup in Russia (4-3).
But if Kylian Mbappé has become the bane of Argentines, it is above all for his short sentence last May, during an interview with the Brazilian channel TNT Sports. Delivering his predictions for the 2022 World Cup, the footballer had indulged in a small, well-felt spade: “The advantage we have for us, the Europeans, is that we play among ourselves with high-level matches. level all the time. […] When we arrive at the World Cup, we are ready, where Brazil and Argentina do not have this level in South America.” And to insist: “Football is not as advanced as ‘in Europe. That’s why in the last World Cups, it’s always the Europeans who have won.”
Either way, Didier Deschamps’ men will have their hands full against Lionel Messi’s team-mates who swept Croatia 3-0 in the semi-finals on Tuesday after beating the Netherlands to the wire in the quarter-finals. With already serious tensions and exacerbated emotions in perspective therefore, this Argentina – France will in any case be an anthology final in several respects, from the Messi-Mbappé duel already abundantly commented on, to the revenge of the round of 16 of 2018.
1. Revenge of 2018
France have already met Argentina in the World Cup. It was June 30, 2018, in the round of 16 of the World Cup in Russia. A totally crazy match during which the Blues and their supporters will have gone through almost all the emotions. The French formation had opened the scoring in the 13th minute with a penalty from Griezmann, following a foul by Marcos Rojo, completely overwhelmed by the incredible raid of Kylian Mbappé, flashed at 37 km / h from the midfield (1- 0). But the Argentine team had picked up the score in the 41st minute thanks to a sumptuous strike from Di Maria (1-1). Gabriel Mercado even gave Argentina the advantage in the 48th minute, served by Messi (1-2).
It was Benjamin Pavard, on a pass from Hernandez, who had delivered the Blues in the 57th minute (2-2) with a recovery as masterful as it was unexpected. One of the highlights of this victorious epic. Kylian Mbappé had tipped the match to France’s advantage in two stages and in less than 5 minutes, in the 64th (3-2) then in the 68th (4-2). But we had not yet finished with the chills since in the 90th minute, the Argentinians had reduced the mark to with a header from Sergio Aguero, served by Messi (4-3). Last jolt and last fright for the last seconds of the match. With such a precedent, the opposition of the two nations, in the final this time, promises to make sparks.
2. Griezmann’s personal revenge?
Another revenge can be evoked at the idea of seeing France face Argentina, with their two engines, Antoine Griezmann and Lionel Messi respectively. The two men met at FC Barcelona for two tumultuous seasons during which the discomfort was sometimes obvious, despite their denials. In a documentary on “Leo” Messi broadcast on RMC a little over a year ago, sports journalist Vincent Duluc returned to this painful episode for the Blues midfielder. “We know that Lionel Messi did not support the video of Griezmann before the 2018 World Cup (the Frenchman explained there that he wanted to stay at Atlético Madrid when Barça was already courting him at the time – Editor’s note). , he had agreed to call Griezmann because the club had asked him”, explained then this connoisseur of the world of football. “Messi was convinced that Griezmann was coming,” said Vincent Duluc again. There will even be an excerpt in which Messi had to call his future teammate and Griezmann to answer: “I’m coming”.
The reversal of the Madrilenian, who will finally join Barça a year later, will never really be forgiven. “Players of this level choose who they play with”, explains the documentary, which ensures that once alongside Griezmann at the Blaugranas, Messi deliberately avoided sharing the ball with the Frenchman. “He didn’t want him to succeed, he didn’t like him at all. For what we know, he rather said a lot of bad things about him to all his friends”, is it still specified, with an explicit mention of ‘Messi’s responsibility’ for Griezmann’s failure in Catalonia.
The duel of Messi, impressive in this World Cup, and Griezmann, in the midst of a renaissance with the France team, will therefore be assessed in the light of their liabilities. Especially since the two players should regularly meet face to face on Sunday, given the position of the Argentinian as playmaker and the Frenchman, withdrawn in the middle of the torchbearer, or even as a backup to the defense since the start of the competition. .
If Messi has not yet commented on this reunion, Antoine Griezmann has already said he is eager to challenge “the best in the world”, without naming him explicitly. “Argentina is a team like ours, a team that works very well and has the best in the world. It will be a very difficult match on Sunday,” he simply warned in the Spanish media.
3. The Messi-Mbappé duel
Another duel is obvious before this Argentina – France, between Messi and Mbappé this time. For a year and a half, the Argentinian and former Barcelonan has joined France and Paris Saint-Germain. And the confrontation of the hero of Albiceleste and his Parisian teammate, executioner of the Argentines in Russia and raised to superstar status himself, will be one of the most observed shocks of the competition. It must be said that in the ranking of scorers for this 2022 World Cup, Mbappé and Messi are both in the lead, tied with 5 goals each, Messi having caught up with his rival from a penalty spot on Tuesday, while Mbappé has remained silent since his double against Poland in the round of 16.
It is therefore a match within the match that will take place on the pitch between the two Parisian attackers, because in addition to a world champion title, each goal could bring a consecration for one or the other. And that’s still without counting the duel Giroud – Alvarez who are both four goals, just behind.
4. Messi’s last chance
This is an issue that will also be on everyone’s mind. If at 23, Kylian Mbappé already has a star on his list and can still play a few World Cups, Lionel Messi, 35, is probably playing his last World Cup. And this title is the only one missing from his well-stocked track record. La Pulga also announced it at the start of this World Cup: “It will surely be my last World Cup, my last opportunity to achieve this great dream that we all have”. Tuesday, after the victory of Argentina against Croatia, he gave a layer. “I’m very happy to end my World Cup journey in a final, to play the last game in a final,” he said. And to conclude: “There are a lot of years between this edition and the next (the 2026 World Cup – editor’s note). I don’t think I’ll be able to do that. To finish this way is great”.
Like Maradona, Lionel Messi also wants to permanently enter the Argentine football pantheon. And we see it from match to match, the Pulga is approaching this World Cup as a personal mission. It’s probably not the easiest thing to admit just a stone’s throw from Sunday’s clash, but for all football fans, including the French no doubt, seeing Messi lift the trophy on Sunday would be a huge sensation anyway. ..
5. Star Wars
Let’s not forget: this World Cup final will also be the final battle of “Star Wars” between France and Argentina. After its two coronations in 1998 and 2018, the France team hopes to embroider a third star on its jersey after Sunday’s match. Just like Argentina, the latter having won the World Cup twice too, but in 1978 and 1986.
The Albiceleste’s first victory took place at home, in the midst of a dictatorship, with a group led by Mario Kempes who scored two of Argentina’s three goals in the final against Cruyff’s Netherlands (3-2). The second will be won in the middle of the Maradona era against West Germany (3-2). It was during this World Cup in particular that “the golden kid” qualified his team with his hand in the quarter-finals, against England.
Whoever wins the final on Sunday will therefore take the lead in the prize list and will come back a length behind Germany and Italy (4 World Cup victories) and two behind Brazil (5 victories). Something to spice up this multi-stakes final a little more.