(Football news) It’s undoubtedly the biggest match in world football and probably the biggest match of Lionel Messi’s career as the 35 year old Argentine takes on France in the 2022 World Cup final at the Lusail Stadium. Les Bleus will be the first reigning champions to feature in the World Cup final in 24 years, booking their ticket after a 2-0 win over Morocco while Argentina overcame Croatia 3-0.

Seven time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi will be playing in his last World Cup match of his illustrious career and it would be a true fairytale ending for arguably the greatest footballer ever if he lifts the Jules Rimet trophy. While the headlines and focus will be on Messi, Argentina have a number of players who will want to prove a point like Nicholas Otamendi, who has rolled back the years and is performing at the highest level, Enzo Fernandez is proving to be one of the biggest prospects in world football and Julian Alvarez is proving to be a prolific goalscorer.

A defeat against France will mean Argentina lose their fourth World Cup final, a joint-high record that they will share with Germany and a bitter end to Messi’s international career at the biggest stage. Few would have predicted Argentina will have a chance to win the World Cup after their opening match defeat to Saudi Arabia and only Spain in 2010 have won the tournament after losing their opening match in the history of the competition. Scaloni’s team will need to be at their defensive best in order to contain the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele but it’s plausible to think they could rise to the occasion.

Despite being World Champions, France did not enter the Qatar World Cup as favourites, partly due to injuries to key players such as Paul Pogba, Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante etc but also due to perpetual controversy and a disappointing Nations League campaign.

However, the reigning champions have proved exactly why they are the current holders of the Jules Rimet trophy by overcoming challenge after challenge with a blend of youth and experience in their squad. One can argue that irrespective of the result, the injuries have meant that France’s next generation of players have received invaluable experience which will set them up for future tournaments.

In team news for Argentina, Marcos Acuna and Gonzalo Montiel are available for selection once again after being suspended in the semi-final. While Montiel will find it difficult to find a place in the starting lineup, Acuna is expected to replace Nicolas Tagliafico in a four man backline while Lisandro Martinez will be on the bench.

La Albiceleste only have one injury doubt as Alejandro Gomez is recovering from an ankle sprain but might make it on the bench while Lionel Messi is expected to become the outright record-holder for World Cup appearances with 26, despite having a hamstring injury scare in the semi-final.

As for France, it is a crisis situation as the likes of Dayot Upamecano, Adrien Rabiot, Kingsley Coman, Raphael Varane and Ibrahima Konate are currently unwell and their participation in the World Cup finals is a serious doubt. Despite taking a couple of blows to the knee in the semi-final, left back Theo Hernandez is expected to be available for selection while 23 year old Kylian Mbappe is in contention for the Golden Boot and could become the youngest player in history to score in multiple World Cup finals.

The two sides will face each other for the 13th time with Argentina picking up six wins so far compared to just three for France while the remaining three ended in draws. However, the last time they met, France won 4-3 during the 2018 World Cup Round of 16 thanks to a magnificent strike by Benjamin Pavard.

The game will be won by the smaller margins and a number of individual battles will be on display such as Mbappe vs. Messi. Fernandez vs. Tchouameni. Griezmann vs. Mac Allister to determine the destiny of the World Cup. We predict a fairytale ending for Lionel Messi and he will go on to lift the prestigious World Cup trophy in his final appearance in the competition.

Argentina possible starting lineup:

E. Martinez; Molina, Romero, Otamendi, Acuna; De Paul, Fernandez, Mac Allister; Di Maria, Messi, Alvarez

France possible starting lineup:

Lloris; Kounde, Varane, Upamecano, T. Hernandez; Tchouameni, Rabiot; Dembele, Griezmann, Mbappe; Giroud

Also read: Sergio Busquets retirement ends incredible era of Spanish national team