The World Cup Final - Destiny vs Legacy
The perfect storyline is about to reach its conclusion. Who will prevail?
After 26 days of headers, heat and human rights violations, 32 teams have been whittled down to just 2. Argentina vs France for the opportunity to be called the best footballing nation in the world, but also, to have ownership over a guaranteed Key Moment in the history of football.
France have made it to the final for the second competition in a row, the first nation to do so since Brazil in 1998 and 2002. Brazil won in 2002, but lost the first of those finals, coincidentally to France, who then began what was known as the “Champions Curse”, named as such as each team that won the World Cup faced early elimination in the next competition 4 years later. France have beaten the curse they started, and they will be hoping to emulate another Brazilian team, Pelé’s Brazil teams of 1958 and 1962, who were the last group to lift the World Cup two tournaments in a row.
On the other side we have Argentina. The last time they won the World Cup was in 1986, under the captaincy of a man who a lot of Argentinians would call their greatest ever player, Diego Maradona. The last time they made it to a World Cup final was in 2014, under the captaincy of a man who most of the world would call the greatest player in the world, Lionel Messi. Maradona sadly passed away in 2020 at the age of 60. Messi is still plying his trade on the global stage as captain of the Argentinian national team at the age of 35, and after having won 15 Argentine Footballer of the Year awards (every year barring 2 since 2005), 10 La Liga’s, 4 UEFA Champions Leagues, 3 Club World Cups, a Copa América, and 7 Ballon d’Or’s in his illustrious 18 year long career, this is the only trophy that has alluded him. While many across the globe will recognise Messi as probably the finest footballer ever to play the beautiful game with or without him lifting 6.1kgs of Gold by its malachite base in front of the world, Argentina will always see him as second best until he leads his country to victory in the world’s most important game.
This has not been a simple tournament for either side. France have had the less panicky road to the final of the two. Their only loss came in their final group game against Tunisia when they were already guaranteed 1st place. They’ve settled all their games in 90 minutes. While this team was knocked by many (including myself) pre-tournament because of the “champion’s curse” and the serious injuries they’ve had to deal with. But they’ve pushed through, getting results where lesser teams may have fallen short. It feels like they’ve been able to find all the answers so far, but with the big test coming up, this team still has plenty of potential to freeze up when it matters most.
Despite all their brilliance in attack France have been weak defensively. While Morocco became the only team that hasn’t scored against France this World Cup in their semi-final, they did create a lot of chances down goal-scorer Theo Hernandez's side, the same side that was exploited by England's Bukayo Saka repeatedly in the Quarter-Final. This left side has been a weakness for France all tournament long as they’ve had to accommodate for Kylian Mbappé’s unwillingness to get back and defend. France will need to address this weak point in their armour and an illness in the camp may have given them the answer they need - Dayot Upamecano was unable to start the semi-final so in stepped Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konaté, who made several clutch tackles and interventions to dig France out of trouble. Konaté may be the second line of defence needed behind Hernandez, especially with Messi prowling on that side of the pitch.
Griezmann remains the key man for France (You can read about this in more detail in my previous piece), roving from box to box, marking players out of the game while winning the ball, and then providing creative passes to unleash any of Mbappé, Giroud, or Ousmane Dembélé. Coach Didier Deschamps hasn't shied away from assigning man-marking duties to all of his players too - both Griezmann marking Azzedina Ounahi and Giroud marking Sofyan Amrabat were tactical masterclasses that helped to nullify the Moroccan threat in midfield. Beating them will be no easy task. France are not to be toyed with. They’re the reigning world champions. When Kylian Mbappé suddenly decides he’s going to use all of his out of this world ability and truly try, nobody has proven capable of stopping him. The only thing that can really stop France is themselves.
Argentina were thrown into chaos after losing their opening game to Saudi Arabia, but this may have been the kick up the backside that they needed as they’ve slowly been building to a crescendo ever since with tactical alterations galore in order to get the best out of the players surrounding their aging talisman. They now seem to have found the magic formula, with Manchester City starlet Julian Alvarez partnering Messi up top, and a midfield of hard workers made up of Liverpool and Manchester United target Enzo Fernandez, Atletico Madrid underachiever Rodrigo De Paul, Brighton’s Scottish-Irish-Argentinian Alexis Mac Allister, and Leandro Paredes in behind. Argentina’s semi-final triumph over Croatia came about more comfortably than most thought, with Alvarez announcing himself on the world stage by scoring an impressive brace and winning the penalty with which Messi opened the scoring.
Fernandez and Mac Allister have been revelations in midfield, adding solidity to defence and helping to progress the ball quickly when needed, not to mention adding a goal each at important moments. They'll both need to be on guard against Antoine Griezmann who has been outstanding in the French midfield. Cristian Romero and Nicolás Otamendi were convincing against Croatia but weren't exactly tested as they have been in previous matches. A rampaging Kylian Mbappé and Olivier Giroud is another matter entirely - they'll need fullbacks Nahuel Molina and one of Nicolás Tagliafico or a rested (due to suspension for the semi-final) Marcos Acuna to lend a hand stopping the French strikeforce getting momentum, not to mention pushing forward to lend a hand to the attacking build-up.
My personal favour falls with Argentina. This will be the most important game of Lionel Messi’s career, and we know how unplayable he can be when those bright lights turn on. His whole legacy depends on this. His team are fully behind him, and each member is willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that Messi gets the opportunity to lift the World Cup at the end of the night. He needs it more than anyone could possibly have needed this trophy before.
So, despite there being 11 players, a group of coaches, and 15 men on the bench for each side, this final is going to ultimately come down to just two men. Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé. Messi needs to pull out one last bone-chilling display of ridiculous prowess on the ball. He needs to put this team on his back, create for those around him, and pray to god that one of his teammates decides to step up alongside him. That little boy from Rosario has the chance to stand atop the world – all of 35 years old, defying logic, odds, the usual aging process, and telling everyone that there will never quite be a player like him – today, tomorrow and far beyond this World Cup. For Mbappé, the pressure is lessened by the fact that he already has a World Cup medal. But this is still an opportunity to write his name in the history books for all of time. Kylian has this one chance to be the crown jewel of a side that seeks to become the first since that bamboozling and brilliant band of Brazilians back in the 1950s and 60s, to defend their World Cup crown. With a win he can write his name alongside Pelé as the only players to ever hold two World Cup medals at the age of 23. That is what is at stake here. Mbappé and Messi are on a major collision course, with one trying to rewrite history, and the other hoping to add another very significant page to a footballing chapter that will remain his own forever.
So, who’s going to win? Unfortunately, my ability with the plastic and leather ball far outweighs my ability with the crystal ball. But e6ven if I was gifted in telling the future, I don’t think I’d want to know. I’ve given you my opinion, you’re welcome to share yours with me too. All I know is this is going to be huge. Legacy vs Destiny. A crowning moment for an icon or an official passing of the torch to the next generation. Whatever happens, good lord I’m excited to watch it all unfold.