Lionel Messi can sign off his World Cup career in fairy-tale fashion as Argentina battle France in the final of Qatar 2022 this Sunday.
The 35-year-old’s glittery trophy collection includes seven Ballon d’Or’s, four Champions League titles and even an Olympic Gold medal but football’s holy grail is still missing.
Messi, a beaten World Cup finalist in 2014, has been in inspired form this winter in a bid to reverse his fortunes on the biggest stage.
He notched in his fifth goal in Qatar – his 11th overall across his five World Cups – as Argentina breezed past Croatia 3-0 in the semi-finals.
But standing in his way will be his Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Kylian Mbappe and France who overcame Morocco 2-0 to reach their second successive World Cup final.
Les Bleus are the current defending champions and could become the first nation in 59 years to win back-to-back Jules Rimet trophies.
Argentina vs France: talkSPORT coverage
The World Cup final will take place on Sunday, December 18, with kick-off at the Lusail Stadium scheduled for 3pm UK time.
talkSPORT will have live coverage of the match, with our pre-show starting at 1pm with Adrian Durham as your presenter.
Commentary will then come from Jim Proudfoot and former England defender Stuart Pearce.
talkSPORT.com will also have a live blog of the action too.
talkSPORT World Cup 2022 Coverage
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We are broadcasting all 64 games in the tournament live, with over 600 hours of coverage across our network.
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Argentina vs France: Squads and team news
Argentina will have Marco Acuna and Gonzalo Montiel back from suspension after they missed out on the semi-final win against Croatia.
While France were forced to deal with illness as Adrien Rabiot and Dayot Upamecano had to sit out against Morocco.
Ibrahima Konate and Youssouf Fofana stepped in and could be handed a start in the final after impressing.
Argentina
- Goalkeepers: Emiliano Martinez, Geronimo Rulli, Franco Armani
- Defenders: Nahuel Molina, Gonzalo Montiel, Cristian Romero, German Pezzella, Nicolas Otamendi, Lisandro Martinez, Marcos Acuna, Nicolas Tagliafico, Juan Foyth
- Midfielders: Rodrigo De Paul, Leandro Paredes, Alexis Mac Allister, Guido Rodriguez, Alejandro Gomez, Enzo Fernandez, Exequiel Palacios
- Forwards: Angel di Maria, Lautaro Martinez, Julian Alvarez, Nicolas Gonzalez, Joaquin Correa, Paulo Dybala, Lionel Messi
France
- Goalkeepers: Alphonse Areola, Hugo Lloris, Steve Mandanda
- Defenders: Lucas Hernandez, Theo Hernandez, Axel Disasi, Ibrahima Konate, Jules Kounde, Benjamin Pavard, William Saliba, Dayot Upamecano, Raphael Varane
- Midfielders Eduardo Camavinga, Youssouf Fofana, Matteo Guendouzi, Adrien Rabiot, Aurelien Tchouameni, Jordan Veretout
- Forwards: Karim Benzema, Kingsley Coman, Ousmane Dembele, Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe, Christopher Nkunku, Marcus Thuram
Argentina vs France: What has been said?
Messi has confirmed that Sunday’s final will be the last World Cup game of his career.
“I am very happy for finishing my journey in World Cups in a final, to play the last game in a final. That is really very gratifying,” he said.
“Everything I lived in this World Cup has been emotional, seeing how much it has been enjoyed in Argentina.
“There are a lot of years from this year to the next one. I don’t think I will be able to do that. To finish this way is brilliant.”
“Any team with Messi in is a totally different proposition.” Griezmann said. “We have seen practically all of their matches at this World Cup.
“We have seen Argentina play, we know how they play. They are a difficult team to play and they seem to be on top form.
“Of course, not only Messi, they have a strong side around him so we know it is going to be a tough game and they will have a lot of support in the crowd.
“We will get back to work tomorrow, focused on it, how we can hurt them, how we can defend against them. We will be well prepared.”
Argentina vs France: Match facts
Full match facts to follow
Watch the World Cup with talkSPORT
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