Will record-chasing France stop Messi from laying his hands on the holy grail?

Despite his global stature Messi still has to win the biggest trophy of them all and standing in his way will be Mbappe, who will be looking for an encore from 2018. 
| Photo Credit: AFP

This capital of this energy-rich thumb-shaped Gulf nation has often made you feel that you are on the (cleaner) streets of Mumbai or Kochi as Indians tend to outnumber everyone else around. And for a month, a vast majority of them along with the 35000 visiting Argentine fans have turned this place into a sacred tour of Lionel Messi.

His face adores most billboards and the neon buildings that light up the evening skies and every second person on the street wears a Messi jersey, while the rest rummage through the stores in Mushareib, Souk Waqif, Wakrah or Lusail to pick the last few available ahead of Argentina’s final against France.

The Argentine captain has not disappointed his disciples as he has lit up the tournament with a sprinkling of sorcery — the goal against Australia, the no-look pass to Nahuel Molina or his toying of Croatian defender Josko Gvardiol in the semifinals. His greatness has been demonstrated throughout the tournament, but for Doha to build a permanent shrine for Messi, the final act of deliverance needs to arrive. A World Cup trophy from Lusail to truly establish his supremacy.

But France is chasing a record of its own — first back-to-back World titles since Pele and Garrincha’s Brazil of 1958 and ’62. And it, too, has a star in Kylian Mbappe, Messi’s PSG teammate and fellow contender for the tournament’s Golden Boot. Morocco tried and mostly succeeded in negating his threat by using right back Acharf Hakimi’s pace and dribbling skills to trouble Theo Hernandez and break the chain of connection between the left-back and Mbappe.

But, Molina, Argentina’s right-back, is a few steps slower and might find it difficult to match the success of the Moroccan. A move to a back-three for extra protection against Mbappe might prove detrimental for Lionel Scaloni’s midfield balance and Argentina’s chances of attacking the still shaky full-backs of France.

A 4-3-3 formation with a fit-again Angel Di Maria brought in to exploit the defensive weaknesses of Hernandez might be Argentina’s answer, while Alexis Mac Allister will play on the left and Rodrigo De Paul on the right with Enzo Fernandez, the only holding midfielder, looking to deal with Antonie Griezmann, the standout player for France.

But with a largely immobile Messi, he has made 0.5 tackles on an average and has spent 5102m walking (Ivan Perisic is second with 4719m), a midfield three can end up offering too much space to Griezmann, who has made three assists and 3.5 key passes. Messi and Argentina, though, have found a tireless Julian Alvarez to do the running for the team’s luminous star, falling back to press whenever Argentina loses the ball.

For Didier Deschamps, there’s also the worry about a cold virus ravaging the camp. Dayot Upamecano missed the last game and now his excellent replacement Ibrahim Konate and the experienced Raphael Varane have missed training, casting doubts about their participation.

France, which ceded 61 percent possession to Morrocco, will continue to exploit its ability to hurt teams with quick transitions and has made the most direct attacks (23) in this World Cup, relying on the creativity and explosiveness of Ousman Dembele and Mbappe from the flanks.

Tactical flexibility

Marcos Acuna, available after serving his suspension, is expected to be reinstated as the left-back ahead of Nicolas Tagliafico to negate the threat of Dembele from the right. Scaloni will look at the workman-like tactical flexibility, emotional aggression of his team and the decisiveness of Messi’s moments of magic to win this ultimate game against France.

Whoever wins — Messi or Mbappe, Argentina or France — the golden hues of the Lusail Stadium on the final Sunday of the 2022 World Cup can irrevocably establish its place as one of the iconic sporting venues of the world when history is created in its sweat-filled turfs.