DIRECT. Argentina – France: slaughter in the composition of the Blues? Final time and info

14:00 – No reception Monday in case of victory

Even if the French team wins the World Cup final, there will be no reception at the Elysée Palace on Monday. The President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, has confirmed that he will not return to Paris after Sunday’s final, victory or not.

13:30 – The duel Messi – Mbappé

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.

13:00 – An Argentine coach wants to cut Mbappé’s leg

“Cuti (Cristian Romero), Ota (Nicolas Otamendi), Paredes, you have to do leg-thigh on Mbappé, and thigh-chest if possible! launched Nestor “Pipo” Gorosito, coach of Gimnasia in D1 Argentina.

12:30 – Kolo Muani and Dembélé at a press conference

Randal Kolo Muani and Ousmane Dembélé will be at a press conference this Friday, December 16, two days before the World Cup final between Argentina and France.

12:00 – Less boycott, more supporters

According to a BVA poll for RTL and Orange, 19% of French people who had decided to boycott the World Cup changed their minds because of the good course of the Blues. 43% of French people say they never intended to boycott the competition.

11:40 – 14,000 police officers in France

For the Argentina – France final, a large police force will be mobilized in France. Some 12,800 police and gendarmes will be present in France to ensure the security of the festivities surrounding the small final of the World Cup and 14,000 on Sunday for the final, which will oppose France to Argentina.

11:20 – The pedestrianized Champs Elysées

The Champs-Elysées will be pedestrianized this Sunday on the occasion of the final of the France-Argentina World Cup, according to BFM TV after having had confirmation from the police headquarters. The decision was taken by the authorities to completely close the famous Parisian artery to traffic, where important scenes of jubilation took place after the last matches of the Blues.

11:00 – 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 also won the World Cup twice, 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.

10:40 – 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 match 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. ..

10:20 – No Covid according to the staff of the Blues

The staff of the France team speaks of viral syndrome, of flu but not of Covid-19. Air conditioning, present almost everywhere in Qatar, is designated as the main reason for this wave of cold snaps.

10:00 – A personal revenge for Griezmann? (3/3)

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.

09:40 – A personal revenge for Griezmann? (2/3)

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.

09:20 – A personal revenge for Griezmann? (1/3)

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”.

08:55 – Argentina – France, the 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.