FIFA World Cup Final — Argentina vs. France
On one side is FIFA’s No. 3-ranked side in Argentina, which disposed of 2018 runner-up Croatia 3-0 in the semis to reach its first final since 2014. On the other side is the defending champion and FIFA’s No. 4-ranked side in France, which fended off Morocco 2-0 in the semifinals to keep its title defense alive.
#1 Lionel Messi, Argentina
Messi will be the center of attention in the final. With his penalty kick score versus Croatia, Messi became Argentina’s all-time scoring leader at the World Cup with 11 goals.
Lionel Messi: “[I feel] a lot of happiness to be able to achieve this. To finish my World Cup career playing my last game in a final. Everything I’ve lived in this World Cup, what people experienced and how much the people back in Argentina are enjoying it all is very emotional.”
#2 Kylian Mbappé, France
In this World Cup, Mbappe scored 5 goals and 2 assists. He broke his 2018 tournament record of four goals in a 3-1 win over Poland in the round of 16. Will history repeat itself as it did in 2018?
#3 Julian Alvarez, Argentina
Alvarez is one of the breakout stars in Qatar. Alvarez has started the last four games and scored in three of them.
#4 Olivier Giroud, France
#5 Antoine Griezmann, France
The 31-year-old Atletico Madrid midfielder assisted on both of France’s goals in the quarterfinals.
How fast will the fastest goal in the 2022 World Cup final be?
The five fastest World Cup goals, according to FIFA, are as follows:
- Hakan Sukur, Turkey-Korea Republic, 2002 (0:11)
- Vaclav Masek, Czechoslovakia-Mexico, 1962 (0:15)
- Ernest Lehner, Germany-Austria, 1934 (0:25)
- Bryan Robson, England-France, 1982 (0:28)
- Clint Dempsey, USA-Ghana, 2014 (0:30)
