It all comes down to this. After four weeks of thrilling upsets, statement strikes and more, the final two teams at the 2022 World Cup go head-to-head at Lusail Stadium in Qatar.
This time around, it is South American giant, Argentina, against reigning champion, France. Yesterday saw Croatia beat Morocco to claim third in the tournament.
Can Lionel Messi finally secure the one title missing from his trophy cabinet and evade lofty comparisons to the late Diego Maradona? Or will a 23-year-old Kylian Mbappe lead France to become the first team to win back-to-back titles in 60 years?
Watch the final on CTV and TSN 1, 4 and 5. Kickoff is at 10 a.m. EST. Keep checking back here as CTVNews.ca follows the match live.
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LINEUPS
The world waits in anticipation now as Argentina and France have officially confirmed their starting lineups ahead of kickoff.
The South Americans are once again led by Messi (who breaks the record for most competition appearances), with Angel Di Maria as a surprise starter and Nicolas Tagliafico replacing Marcos Acuna who picked up a late injury.
The Europeans, meanwhile, seem to have fought off the flu in their training camp and see key names such as Dayot Upamecano and Adrien Rabiot return.
ARGENTINA STARTING XI:
Emiliano Martinez, Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Nicolas Otamendi, Nicolas Tagliafico, Angel Di Maria, Rodrigo de Paul, Enzo Fernandez, Alexis Mac Allister, Lionel Messi, Julian Alvarez
FRANCE STARTING XI:
Hugo Lloris, Jules Kounde, Raphael Varane, Dayot Upamecano, Theo Hernandez, Aurelien Tchouameni, Adrien Rabiot, Ousmane Dembele, Antoine Griezmann Kylian Mbappe, Olivier Giroud
MEMORABLE MOMENTS
With Sunday’s game being the final match until the 2026 campaign in North America, here are some of the most memorable moments from the tournament in Qatar:
Canada returned to the world’s biggest soccer stage for the first time in 36 years. Despite losing all three games, it was a moment to remember for fans as Alphonso Davies scored the country’s first-ever goal at the FIFA men’s World Cup.
Elsewhere, Saudi Arabia pulled off the upset of the tournament after beating Argentina 2-1 in the group stage.
And in case you missed it, some of the most memorable goals of the tournament came through Richarlison’s acrobatic strike against Serbia and Wout Weghorst’s free-kick equaliser against Argentina in the quarterfinals.
After the final, FIFA will also confirm the winners for the individual tournament player awards with the Golden Ball, Golden Boot and more still up for grabs.
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