Charge for the match Argentina – France with Parimatch!
December 18 at the World Championships in Qatar will be the last fight. In the final match for the title of the winner of the Mundial at the Lusail stadium, the reigning world champion – the French team – and the South American champion – the Argentina team will meet. The beginning of the meeting is at 17.00 Kyiv time.
Argentina
The South American champion began his ascent to the 2022 World Cup final with a sensation, losing to Saudi Arabia 1-2. But then the Scaloni team quickly recovered. And then she just won.
In good style, the Argentines won with the same score 2-0 the remaining two matches of the group stage – against the national teams of Mexico and Poland.
In the 1/8 finals, the Latin Americans were not so bright in the game against Australia, but still got a natural victory 2:1.
The quarter-final against the Netherlands is arguably the most emotional and most action-packed matchup of the 2022 World Cup. It had everything – both beautiful combinations with goals, and a fantastic comeback. And a lot of yellow cards. And the victory of the Argentines on penalties.
In the semi-finals, Argentina defeated the Croatian national team 3-0 without any problems and adventures, having rematched in this way for a similar defeat at the 2018 Mundial.
The final of the Qatari World Cup for Albiseleste is already the sixth in the history of the team. So far, the statistics are negative: two wins against three losses.
Argentina won the World Cup in 1978 (at home) and in 1986 when the marvelous Maradona led it forward.
However, in 1930, 1990 and 2014, the Argentines lost their finals.
It would be superfluous to recall that the current final for the Argentina national team is considered by 95 percent from the angle of the figure of Lionel Messi. Only the lazy did not mention that the 2022 World Cup will be the last for the great Argentinean, and he really wants to become a world champion – to win the only title that has not yet succumbed to him.
Getty Images/Global Images Ukraine
It is worth noting that Leo’s claims for Qatari gold are very solid. During the tournament, the captain of the Argentines adds from match to match. He has five hits and three assists to his credit. But the main thing that he has on his account is an inspired, solid game that allows you to make a difference.
There is no doubt that it is Messi who will play the “first violin” in the final.
Although, at the same time, it should be noted that the current Argentina national team is not only Messi. Like Leo, his partners are also adding from match to match. Scaloni managed to do what many of his predecessors failed to do: stabilize the team’s game, improve the interaction of all links and find the right balance.
Lionel Messicaptain of the Argentina national team:
“I am proud to be able to end my World Cup career by playing in this final. What I’m experiencing right now is something exciting. Undoubtedly, this final will be my last match at the Mundials. There is still a long time until the next tournament in 2026, and I do not think that I will succeed. Therefore, I hope to conclude my presentations in the best possible way.
France
Few people expected such agility from the reigning world champions. And on the eve of the Mundial, and literally a few days before the start of the “tricolor” on it, Deschamps did what he deleted from his list of injured football players, replacing them with the nearest reserve. Didier decided to leave one injured person – Benzema, hoping that the owner of the Golden Ball – 2022 will be able to recover during the tournament. Rumor has it that Karim has indeed already healed the injury, but he is unlikely to play in the final.
Nevertheless, despite serious problems with the squad, the French went through the group stage without any questions. Australia were defeated 4:1, then they beat Denmark – 2:1, and staked out a ticket to the playoffs in advance. In a decisive duel against Tunisia, the experimental team of the French lost 0:1.
In the first round of the playoffs, the current world champions confidently dealt with the Poles – 3:1. In the quarter-finals they had to really suffer against formidable England, but, nevertheless, the game ended in their favor – 2:1. One step before the final, Deschamps’ wards quite calmly defeated the main sensation of the current World Cup – the Moroccan team – 2:0.
And now the current title holder will defend him in the decisive match. Well, the truth is, few believed in such a turn of events.
Interestingly, only two teams in the history of the world championships managed to defend the title. First, the Italians did it: they became champions in 1934, and four years later they again tried on the championship crown.
The second “test” attempt – the authorship of the great team of Brazil: 1958 and 1962.
For the French team, the upcoming World Cup final will be the fourth in its history. And two out of three attempts for the Musketeers were successful.
For the first time they reached the final of the Mundial in 1998, at the home world championship. And they defeated Brazil – 3:0. Eight years later, the French again played in the final. But this time they lost to the Italians on penalties. Those two matches are united by the figure of Zidane. In the first case, Zinedine became the hero of the fight, scoring two goals, and in the second case, he became an anti-hero due to a skirmish with Materazzi and removal.
The third exit of the French in the final was successful for the team. Four years ago, Deschamps’ team defeated Croatia 4-2 in the final match.
Getty Images/Global Images Ukraine. Kylian Mbappe
If for Argentina the future final is indicative, significant primarily from the point of view of Messi, his last Mundial, on which Leo wants to put not only a beautiful exclamation mark, but also stake out another Ballon d’Or, then the French also have a similar story . It may be inferior in sonority and sentimentality to the Argentinean, but still. It’s about Mbappe.
The leader of the French attack is one of the best players in the Qatari Mundial. He is not going to leave his national team after the 2022 World Cup, but if he wins, he can not only claim victory in the next Ballon d’Or referendum, but also make a good bid to officially end the era of Messi and Ronaldo. And the era of Mbappe began.
Didier Deschampshead coach of the French national team:
– Argentina has a very cool player and it’s Messi who makes the difference. We are in for a big fight. Argentina is an aggressive team, but it’s good aggression.
Messi has been great since the start of the tournament. Four years ago, things were different. He started the match not in the position where we expected, but ended it as a striker. Now they have a striker and Messi has a lot of freedom. He often meets the ball and looks like he is in great shape.
Messi is the best player in the world or one of the best. We will have to work to limit its impact on the game as much as possible. They will do the same with some of my players. But this is not the Argentina we played four years ago.
Personal meetings
The final of the 2022 World Cup will be the 13th head-to-head match for the opponents. For some, this number will definitely become happy, but for someone it will definitely bring only disappointment. So far, a tangible advantage is on the side of the Argentines: six victories against three French victories. The rest of the matches ended in a draw.
At the World Championships, opponents met only three times. Twice won the “albiseleste”, one victory in the “tricolor”. The last match between rivals at the world championships took place four years ago. Then the French in the first round of the playoffs met with the Messi team and celebrated a 4:3 victory. At that tournament, Deschamps’ wards became world champions.
Forecast for confrontation
For any final, no one needs to be set up additionally. Especially for a final like this. However, in this case it is still possible to make a small (or large) exception to the rule. The surname of this “exception” is Messi. The captain of the Argentines has made it clear that the current Mundial will be his last as an Albiceleste player. And one of the best football players in world history will certainly go out of his way to replenish his richest museum of trophies and titles with the missing detail. In the event of a victory at the World Cup, Messi can be considered not “one of”, but the greatest football player in the history of this game. And this is understood not only by millions of fans around the world, but also by Leo himself.
Argentina’s chances of winning look, in our opinion, more preferable. In the course of the tournament, the Latin Americans noticeably improved, which cannot be said about the French. Scaloni managed to stabilize not only the composition, but also the game of the team. But Deschamps still does not have the necessary balance between defense and attack in this tournament (a roll in favor of attack).
It seems that the most realistic bet at the moment is “both teams to score”. Suppose that the Argentina national team can score one goal more than the opponent.
Approximate compositions:
Argentina: E. Martinez, Acuña, Otamendi, Romero, Molina, McAllister, Fernandez, Paredes, De Paul, Alvarez, Messi
France: Lloris, Kunde, Varane, Conate, Hernandez, Rabiot, Tchouameni, Dembele, Griezmann, Mbappe, Giroud.
December 18, Sunday
Argentina – France
Lusail. Lusail Iconic. 17:00 Live TV broadcast – MEGOGO video service and Suspilne
ARGENTINA – FRANCE. ONLINE BROADCAST OF THE MATCH
Arbitrator: Szymon Marciniak (Poland) Forecast Aroged – 3:2
Charge for the match Argentina – France with Parimatch!
