Fifa World Cup, Argentina and France’s road to the final: Messi magic, Mbappe brilliance and more

Argentina and France will clash for the Fifa World Cup title on Sunday in what promises to be a mouth-watering match.

Eight years after suffering heartbreak in Brazil, Lionel Messi will play in the World Cup for one last time hoping to win the only title missing from his trophy cabinet.

France, chasing history on two fronts, are hoping to be the first team in 60 years to defend a men’s World Cup title while manager Didier Deschamps aims to become only the second manager after Italy’s Vittorio Pozzo to win back-to-back World Cups.

Here’s how Argentina and France reached the final:

Argentina

Three weeks ago, Saudi Arabia pulled off their biggest win in history when they stunned Messi’s Argentina in the Group C match. Not only did the upset give us one of the best memes, it also raised questions about Argentina’s ability to win the World Cup.

However, La Albiceleste dispelled some of the doubts recording identical 2-0 wins over Mexico and Poland to secure their passage to the round of 16 where they faced a gritty Socceroos. Goals from Messi and Julian Alvarez gave Argentina a 2-0 lead against Australia but a late Enzo Fernandez own goal threatened to complicate matters. In the last seconds of the game, goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez had to pull off a big save to prevent extra time.

In one of the matches of the tournament, the Netherlands fought back from 0-2 down to send the match to extra time with Wout Weghorst scoring twice in dramatic fashion. Tempers flared in the penalty shootout but Martinez pulled of two big saves to help Argentina progress to the semifinal.

Four years after losing 3-0 to Croatia in their group stage encounter, Argentina got revenge by beating Luka Modric’s side by the same scoreline to reach the final in style. Oh and Messi came up with another contender for assist of the tournament.

Overall, Argentina have bounced back from one of the greatest upsets in the history of the tournament to get better as the tournament went on. Messi has been their main-man, but around him the likes of Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernandez and Julian Alvarez have stepped up nicely for some big moments. Now they are one win away from giving their legendary No 10 a fitting World Cup farewell.

France

France got their title defence off in style thrashing Australia 4-1 in their Group D opener with Olivier Giroud ending his World Cup duck by netting twice. Les Bleus became the first team in Qatar to qualify for the knockouts with a 2-1 win over Denmark, and in the process becoming the first World Cup winners in four editions to not bow out in the group stage. A much-changed side lost 1-0 to Tunisia in the final group game but it was inconsequential for where they finished.

In a comfortable win over Poland, Giroud became France’s all-time men’s top-scorer while Kylian Mbappe netted twice as Deschamps’ men set up a quarterfinal clash against England. Aurelien Tchouameni, who gave France the lead in the 17th minute, went from hero to villain after conceding a penalty from which Harry Kane equalised. Giroud restored the advantage but France conceded yet another penalty. This time however, Kane blazed his shot over the crossbar as France held on to a narrow win. It was a big test for the champions’ mettle and despite arguably not being the better side on the night, they managed to hold on for the win.

Theo Hernandez gave France the perfect start in the semifinal against Morocco by scoring in the fifth minute. Morocco then took the game to France and put Les Bleus under huge pressure for large parts of the match. But, once again as champions do, France found a way through a super sub scoring within a minute of coming on. Randal Kolo Muani scored his first World Cup goal to settle the tie and take France to a fourth men’s Fifa World Cup final.

Overall, France have not just broken the recent curse of defending champions crashing out in the group stage, they have done so in some style to reach the final. Have they played eye-catching football to reach the final? Perhaps not always. But much like 2018, they have done enough. Mbappe has been spectacular, and despite a whole lot of injuries to key players, they have shown off their incredible depth. Argentina will be wary of the fact that France have been winning without truly hitting top gear.

No team has defended this title since Brazil in 1958 and 1962. Will Deschamps’ men end that wait?