Argentina vs. France (Sunday, 3.00pm)
The headline act of a sparkling World Cup 2022 programme commences on Sunday afternoon at the Lusail Iconic Stadium, as Argentina and reigning champions France strive for international supremacy in a mouthwatering final.
Les Bleus will step out onto the Lusail turf as the first holders in 24 years to participate in the final, which they booked their tickets for courtesy of a 2-0 win over African trailblazers Morocco in the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, Lionel Scaloni's men denied Croatia a second successive appearance in the showpiece event with a 3-0 victory in the final four, and the pre-match build-up has unsurprisingly been focused on one man.
We say: Argentina 2-1 France
Mbappe vs. Messi. Fernandez vs. Tchouameni. Griezmann vs. Mac Allister. Countless individual battles should decide the destiny of the World Cup in a final where goals are surely a guarantee.
Deschamps's illness-affected men have rarely managed to find that perfect defensive formula in Qatar and could very well have come out on the wrong end of the scoreline against Morocco on another day, but their penchant for rapid-fire counter-attacks should come to the fore regardless.
However, an Argentina side that have only failed to score more than once against Saudi Arabia can expose Les Bleus' rearguard shortcomings and channel their own defensive acumen in equal measure. Fairytale endings are never a guarantee in football, but viewers around the world can finally expect to witness Messi with both hands on the 18-karat gold trophy.
> Click here to read our full preview for this match
> How France could line up against Argentina
> How Argentina could line up against France
> A look at Argentina's route to the 2022 World Cup final
> World Cup clean sweep: Messi, Mbappe vying to join exclusive club
> World Cup leading goalscorers of all time: Lionel Messi eyes Pele mark in final
> World Cup Golden Boot race: Messi, Mbappe, Alvarez, Giroud all in contention
