Dec 14, 2022 - Sports

Messi vs. Mbappé: France to battle Argentina in World Cup finale

Herb Scribner

ylian Mbappe of France celebrates their sides second goal during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 semi final match between France and Morocco. — Kylian Mbappé of France celebrates in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Photo: FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images

Argentina and France will face off in the 2022 FIFA World Cup final, pitting the young French superstar Kylian Mbappé against Argentinian living legend Lionel Messi in the tournament finale.

The big picture: France has the chance to repeat as World Cup champions after winning in 2018 (the last team to repeat was Brazil in 1962). This may also be Messi's final World Cup and last chance to secure the trophy.

How we got here: Argentina secured a spot in the final after a 3-0 win over Croatia. It was a less-than-dramatic game for the South American squad, which suffered a shocking upset in the team's opening game against Saudi Arabia and was nearly eliminated by the Netherlands in a penalty shootout in the tournament quarterfinals.

France arrives to the final after dominating the group stage and breezing through the knockout round. Les Bleus struggled against England in its quarterfinal match, but made the final after a 2-0 win against Morocco.

There are a few storylines to watch in the final. France's Mbappé and Argentina's Messi are teammates at the French league club Paris Saint-Germain, but they are competing for the World Cup trophy and the tournament's golden boot award (most goals in a World Cup) this year.

This may be Messi's final chance to secure a World Cup accolade as he has previously said he expects this to be his last go-around.
This is Messi's second World Cup final in five tournaments, having lost 1-0 to Germany in 2014.

A victory for France would give Mbappé his second World Cup win before turning 24. Brazilian legend Pelé is the only player with three World Cup trophies.