It all comes down to this. Two in a row for France? Lionel Messi taking that final step towards World Cup immortality? The World Cup final has everything you need from a game. The Sportsman has everything you need from the biggest match in football. Stay updated here for all the latest team news, action and reaction.
A new World Cup record has been set in Qatar, with the tournament having resulted in 172 goals scored, one more than in 2014 and in 1998!
...The World Cup's Fair Play trophy awarded to the team with the least cards.
Golden Ball: Lionel Messi
Golden Boot: Kylian Mbappe
Golden Glove: Emi Martinez
Silver Ball (Young Player): Enzo Fernandez
ARGENTINA WIN THE WORLD CUP!
The forward leathers it in, it's 3-2! Argentina can win it with their next kick...
Paredes makes it 3-1! If France miss, Argentina win the World Cup!
It's still 2-1 Argentina, another miss from France!
It's 2-1 Argentina!
1-1 after Coman's miss.
1-1 after the first penalties.
1-0 France
The best ever World Cup final will be decided by a penalty shoot-out. Awaits on the other side for the victorious is immortality. No pressure.
KYLIAN MBAPPE HAT TRICK!
ITS 3-3 WITH FIVE MINUTES TO GO.
The substitute for about 10 seconds Montiel elbows an Mbappe shot inside the area. It's the last chance for Mbappe!
GOAL FOR ARGENTINA! GOAL FOR LIONEL MESSI!
A rapid counter attack sees Argentina fly three men forward, Lautaro Martinez smashes it into the face of Lloris and it deflects to Lionel Messi who taps it home to likely win Argentina the World Cup.
We're going for more...
There's going to be eight added minutes of time, if there's no goals then we're off to extra time!
FRANCE HAVE LEVELLED!
KOLO MUANI COMBINES WITH KYLIAN MBAPPE WHO SMASHES A VOLLEY INTO THE BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER OF THE NET. INCREDIBLE SCENES.
79' - MBAPPE SCORES!
He smashes it bottom left, Martinez is unlucky as he gets a hand to it, but it's not enough.
PENALTY FOR FRANCE!
After 78 minutes of poor play, France somehow have a huge chance to get one back! Kolo Muani is brought down by Otamendi after he's beaten for pace running back towards his own goal. Mbappe to take...
65' - Argentina are just bullying their opponents now. France still haven't had a shot on target in the game and there's less than half an hour to go. Embarrassing display from Les Bleus and Lionel Scaloni deserves immense d
Argentina lead 2-0 at the break, thanks to that early Messi penalty and the slightly later finish from Di Maria. France looked slightly better after their early substitutions but still look miles off the pace.
Didier Deschamps has thrown the sink at the fridge, so to speak. He's taken off Olivier Giroud and Ousmane Dembele for Marcus Thuram and Randal Kolo-Muani.
☑️ Round of 16
☑️ Quarter final
☑️ Semi final
☑️ Final
The first man to ever do it.
The GOAT. 🐐
35' - ANOTHER FOR ARGENTINA!
France are all over the shop. Simple ball through to Mac Allister who feeds a clear and open Di Maria, who slots it past a diving Lloris.
22' - GOAL FOR ARGENTINA!
Lionel Messi strikes it home into the bottom right, sends Hugo Lloris the wrong way from the spot.
Alvarez finds Di Maria on the left wing, he beats Dembele who chases him back into the box and trips him with the minimalist of contact. Messi to take...
It's been a decent opening ten minutes, Argentina putting the pressure on a nervous-looking France side. Hugo Lloris has gone down after getting a little elbow from his Spurs teammate Cuti Romero. Still 0-0 after 10 minutes.
Antoine Griezmann gets us underway at the Lusail Stadium.
We're saying 2-1 Argentina. 🇦🇷
Messi and Alvarez.
UNDERRATED. 🇫🇷
The Football Association has confirmed that Gareth Southgate will remain as England head coach until the end of his contract. The former Middlesbrough manager’s deal does not expire until after Euro 2024, but he had recently spoken of bering “conflicted” over his future.
Tagliafico comes in for Acuna for Argentina, due to a late injury.
Julian Alvarez will never be the same again.
When he returns to Manchester City on Monday, his life has changed forever regardless of whether he comes back to England a World Cup winner.
To win this festive @classicshirts France Christmas jumper simply:
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As the 2022 World Cup draws to a close, with just Sunday's final to go, it is time to reflect on what we have seen over the past four weeks.
With that in mind, The Sportsman team have selected their favourite moments from the tournament...
All the focus is on the attackers ahead of the World Cup final. With Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe on the same pitch, how can it not be? But the two men tasked with keeping them out will play a vital role in this final, and have been on quite distinctive journeys to make it to the pinnacle of world football.
Where: Lusail Stadium, Lusail
When: 3pm (GMT) / 6pm (AST)
TV: BBC One, ITV1, BBC iPlayer, ITVX, STV, STV Player and BBC Sport website
Last meeting: France 4-3 Argentina (Kazan, 2018 World Cup)
Argentina’s semi-final result: Won 3-0 v Croatia
France’s semi-final result: Won 2-0 v Morocco
Argentina squad: 1 Franco Armani, 2 Juan Foyth, 3 Nicolas Tagliafico, 4 Gonzalo Montiel, 5 Leandro Paredes, 6 Gaston Pezzella, 7 Rodrigo De Paul, 8 Marcos Acuna, 9 Julian Alvarez, 10 Lionel Messi, 11 Angel Di Maria, 12 Geronimo Rulli, 13 Cristian Romero, 14 Exequiel Palacios, 15 Angel Correa, 16 Joaquin Correa, 17 Alejandro Gomez, 18 Guido Rodriguez, 19 Nicolas Otamendi, 20 Alexis Mac Allister, 21 Paulo Dybala, 22 Lautaro Martinez, 23 Emiliano Martinez, 24 Enzo Fernandez, 25 Lisandro Martinez, 26 Nahuel Molina
France squad: 1 Hugo Lloris, 2 Benjamin Pavard, 3 Axel Disasi, 4 Raphael Varane, 5 Jules Kounde, 6 Matteo Guendouzi, 7 Antoine Griezmann, 8 Aurelien Tchouameni, 9 Olivier Giroud, 10 Kylian Mbappe, 11 Ousmane Dembele, 12 Randal Kolo Muani, 13 Youssouf Fofana, 14 Adrien Rabiot, 15 Jordan Veretout, 16 Steve Mandanda, 17 William Saliba, 18 Dayot Upamecano, 20 Kingsley Coman, 21 Lucas Hernandez, 22 Theo Hernandez, 23 Alphonse Areola, 24 Ibrahima Konate, 25 Eduardo Camavinga, 26 Marcus Thuram
