Argentina vs France World Cup final LIVE updates: Predictions, start time, line-up news and streaming
The 2022 World Cup final is here, with reigning champions France meeting Argentina in the tournament’s showpiece game.
France ended Morocco’s Cinderella run to maintain their bid to become only the third side to retain the trophy, while Argentina swept aside Croatia to keep alive their dream of a first title since 1986 — and a first for Lionel Messi in what is likely to be his last World Cup appearance.
The big game takes place at the Lusail Stadium and kicks off at 3pm GMT, which is 10am ET and 7am PT.
Stay tuned for build-up, team news, analysis, live updates and reaction!
After the 2010 World Cup, French football was sick.
A national inquest and complete cultural reset was required to make it feel better. Looking back, it is a useful starting point to understand the foundations for France reaching consecutive World Cup finals.
A certain level of talent is usually a given but that is far from everything. France at their worst suffer from infighting and crashing egos. At their best, they are a band of brothers.
When Deschamps joined in 2012, having been a central figure of the 1998 World Cup success, he knew that a healthy environment is a great enabler for a team to flourish during the intense bubble of tournament football. And it has resulted in a philosophy that underpins every selection he picks: the squad is king.
If you don’t go along with that, you tend not to be called up by Deschamps.
That means not necessarily taking the best players, but the best blend of characters for the benefit of the group. And it appears to be working as they are in another World Cup final and the clips from the squad camp give the impression of a group who are at the sweet spot between motivation and relaxation and absolutely relishing this experience.
So, the Argentina story naturally gravitates around the one and only Lionel Messi. But to bill this final as Messi v Mbappe is really missing the point about this France collective.
