PSG teammates Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe will turn rivals on Sunday when Argentina lock horns with France in the 2022 FIFA World Cup final. France halted Morocco’s fairytale run at the tournament in semifinals, earning a hard-fought 2-0 victory to book their place in back-to-back FIFA World Cup finals. They now have a chance to defend their world title, and join Brazil and Italy as the only teams to achieve the feat.
However, its Lionel Messi’s one last shot at the trophy that has eluded him his entire life, and was almost in his grasps in 2014 when Argentina played Germany in the final, only to lose 1-0. But the ‘La Pulga’ is in full throttle ahead of the final, having netted a stunning 5 goals and provided 3 assists in 6 games so far at the tournament in Qatar. And now, former England international Rio Ferdinand feels this is finally Messi’s time to lift the World Cup trophy, at the cost of Mbappe and France.
Ferdinand feels ‘stars are aligning’ for Lionel Messi to win the World Cup
Lionel Messi has been backed by many to win the World Cup, and more so after his fierce rival Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portugal were knocked out in the quarterfinals. On the other hand, Messi has been instrumental in all of Argentina’s knockout games so far, scoring a goal each in the Round of 16, quarterfinal and the semifinal, also dishing out a couple of assists in that period.
The former Barcelona star is now one game away from realising his dream of leading his country to World Cup glory for the first time since the late Diego Maradona did so 36 years ago, back in 1986. Messi knows the importance of getting here, having played a World Cup final in 2014 as well, and won’t miss a cylinder to fire on against France in the final on December 18. Meanwhile, Ferdinand, backing the PSG No.30 to triumph over the No.7, said on BBC One:
“I think the stars are aligning for Lionel Messi. We saw him reach 1,000 [competitive] games during this tournament. When the question is asked – who is the best, Maradona or Messi, and people say Messi has not won a World Cup. This could be his moment.
“Fairytale wise we wanted Morocco to win [the semi-final against France], but now we’ve got a two final with two megastars in Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe. It could be the passing of the baton. Who knows? There are so many different sub plots to what could be a great game. As good as France are, I think Lionel Messi and Argentina will be sat there licking their lips a little bit.
“They will be thinking there are areas they can get at France, particularly down the left-hand area of their defence. When France were run at they did panic a little bit and with Julian Alvarez and Messi dancing and wiggling around, it is going to be a great game.”
Messi is now just one win away from tasting the glory his fellow countrymen and legends Diego Maradona and Mario Kempes did. Also, the 35-year-old has confirmed that the final against France will be his last ever FIFA World Cup game for Argentina, which however was no surprise since he had already stated prior to the tournament in Qatar that he won’t be able to be around the national team until the 2026 edition.