In the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which is approaching the end in Qatar, Argentina’s opponent in the final was France, the defending champion.
France defeated Morocco, the surprise team of the tournament, 2-0 in the semi-finals.
With goals from Theo Hernandez in the 5th minute and Kolo Muani in the 79th minute, France advanced to the finals of the World Cup for the second time in a row.
Croatia will face Morocco in the third place match on Saturday, and France and Argentina will face off in the final match on Sunday.
Argentina also advanced to the final by beating the last finalist Croatia 3-0 in the semi-finals.
Argentina had previously won the World Cup in 1978 and 1986, and France in 1998 and 2018.
France wants to be the first country to retain its world title in 60 years.
Only Italy and Brazil had won the World Cup twice in a row.
Italy achieved this feat in 1934 and 1938, and Brazil in 1958 and 1962.
Argentina’s captain, Lionel Messi, has announced that Sunday’s final will be the last of his World Cup career.
Messi will have fulfilled his biggest dream if Argentina wins the championship.
About The Match
- Argentina, which has won only two of the last eight matches against the European representatives in the World Cup (3 Draws, 3 Losses), won two of their two wins by beating Poland 2-0 in the group stage of this tournament and beating Croatia 3-0 in the Semi-Finals. Tango players, in two of the three matches they drew in this period, were the side that took the lead with penalty kicks.
- France has become the fourth European country to reach the finals of two World Cups in a row. (Italy; 1934-1938, Netherlands; 1974-1978 & Germany; 1982-1986-1990)
- Argentina, which has been to the finals 5 times, won the cup 2 times.
- France, who reached the final for the fourth time, was able to win the cup twice in the previous 3 times. Their only defeat was in 2006 against Italy on penalties.
- No player has contributed more goals in a World Cup since 1966 than Lionel Messi (13; on par with Brazilian Ronaldo).
- Having reached the finals in four of the last seven World Cups (1998, 2006, 2022), France doubled the number of its closest rivals in this process.
- Lionel Messi has become the first player to both score and assist in four different World Cup matches since 1966 (2006; vs Serbia & 2022; vs Mexico, Netherlands & Croatia).
- The only country in the World Cup to reach the final more than Argentina (6; equal to Brazil) is Germany (8). Tango players reached the finals in two of the last three tournaments (2014).
Matches Between
Both teams have met five times before, Argentina has 4 wins and France has 1 win.
30/06/2018 | France | 4 – 1 | Argentina | World Cup |
11/02/2009 | France | 0 – 0 | Argentina | Fri. Match |
07/02/2007 | France | 1 – 1 | Argentina | Fri. Match |
06/06/1978 | Argentina | 1 – 1 | France | World Cup |
15/07/1930 | Argentina | 3 – 0 | France | World Cup |
Results of the last 5 matches played by Argentina
26/11/2022 | Argentina | 2-0 | Mexico |
30/11/2022 | Poland | 0-2 | Argentina |
03/12/2022 | Argentina | 2-1 | Australia |
09/12/2022 | Netherlands | 2-2 | Argentina |
13/12/2022 | Argentina | 3-0 | Croatia |
Results of the last 5 matches played by France
26/11/2022 | France | 2-1 | Denmark |
30/11/2022 | Tunisia | 1-0 | France |
04/12/2022 | France | 3-1 | Poland |
10/12/2022 | England | 1-2 | France |
14/12/2022 | France | 2-0 | Morocco |
Referees
According to the statement made by FIFA, Marciniak from the Polish Football Federation will blow the whistle in the match to be played on Sunday, December 18 at the Lusail Stadium.
Pawel Sokolnicki and Tomasz Listkiewicz from the same country will be Marciniak’s assistants. The fourth referee of the match will be İsmail Elfath from the USA.
Marciniak was born in 1981 in Płock, Poland. He began his career as a football referee at the age of 21. Initially, he combined refereeing football matches with playing as an amateur footballer. In 2006, he switched to working as a football referee professionally. He refereed his first match in the top Polish professional league in 2009 at the GKS Bełchatów stadium. Since then, he has refereed more than 200 matches in Ekstraklasa having been appointed the head referee in the 2016 Polish Cup final match as well as the 2017 Polish SuperCup final.
Lusail Stadium
If there is a stadium designed to not only fully meet but exceed the expectations of a certain type of audience, officials and VIP guests, it would be the Lusail Iconic Stadium at best.
An icon both in name and nature, Lusail National Stadium is located in Lusail, the “city where masters plan for the future” in Qatar.
This magnificent structure, which has the largest capacity in the first World Cup to be held in the region and will host the FIFA World Cup 2022™ finals, has a capacity of 86,000 seats and includes versatile technologies. Born from the brilliant ideas of world-renowned British architects Foster Partners, this truly iconic design is inspired by traditional lanterns adorned with Arabian details that reflect Qatari heritage and culture.
The Lusail Iconic Stadium is located 15 km north of Doha, from where the capital can be easily reached by metro.
Arena; Located in the master-planned City of Lusail, which includes a marina, commercial districts, entertainment center, homes, retail malls, golf courses, schools, medical centers and mosques. Lusail City is a sustainable metropolis, home to approximately 200,000 residents and a stadium that takes sports venues to unparalleled levels.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni: “We play for our people. We are grateful to the Argentine fans. We know how costly it is to come here. We know what is expected of us. We will give our all on the pitch.”