On Sunday afternoon at the Lusail Iconic Stadium, Argentina and the defending champions France will face off in a tantalizing final in the main event of a glittering World Cup 2022 schedule.
Following a 2-0 victory over African trailblazers Morocco in the semifinals, Les Bleus will take the field on the Lusail pitch as the first holders participating in the final in 24 years.
In the meantime, Croatia was denied a repeat appearance in the championship event by Lionel Scaloni's team with a 3-0 victory in the final four, and it's not surprise that attention has been concentrated on one player in the lead-up to the game.
On social media this week, a video of Lionel Messi has been making rounds. Instead of one of the 35-year-old’s magnificent goals or mind-blowing assists, the image is of a journalist waxing lyrical about the player's timeless traits and emphasizing how much he motivates all the young people back home.
Almost all of the items on the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner's football bucket list have been checked off, with the exception of the most significant one, and the actors are already hard at work writing the scene in which Messi raises the coveted trophy in the air during what will be his final World Cup game.
Even though the Paris Saint-Germain attacker has spoken persuasively during the Qatar tournament, one guy cannot lead his country to the largest athletic event in the world by himself. Enzo Fernandez might be the next big thing, Nicolas Otamendi has turned back the clock in defense, and Julian Alvarez has obviously studied a few pages from his strike partner's playbook.
A penny for Argentina's thoughts when Salem Al-stunning Dawsari's Saudi Arabia goal sailed past Emiliano Martinez or when Wout Weghorst almost pulled off the impossible for the Netherlands in the quarterfinals, but the Copa America champions are determined to keep their names off the list of illustrious nations like Spain, Belgium, and Germany that have committed the unenviable feat of killing all the giants.
La Albiceleste defeated the 2018 runners-up with ease, in large part due to their effervescent strike partnership. Croatia, who had already eliminated one of the tournament favorites in Brazil, was not expected to be an easy opponent.
Messi scored from 12 yards after Dominik Livakovic was ruled to have fouled Alvarez, and the Manchester City player doubled his team's lead by running through the Croatian defense and getting lucky with a few ricochets. Officiating controversy then reared its ugly head.
A sixth World Cup final is now expected for the 1978 and 1986 champions after Messi created an elite group of players that made Josko Gvardiol appear foolish at this World Cup by manipulating the 20-year-old breakout star before selecting Alvarez to put the tie beyond any reasonable question.
Argentina has lost three championship tournaments, including the 2014 edition, and they now stand a chance of matching Germany's regrettable record of dropping a combined four World Cup finals, but scoring at least two goals in each game since the first matchday is unquestionably encouraging.
Only Spain in 2010 managed to win the World Cup after losing their opening match, but Scaloni's team has only faced an average of six shots per game in Qatar, and they will need to use this defensive prowess to prevent Messi's teammate Kylian Mbappe from having a field day.