The Blues are only one match away from repeating their capital performance of 2018, against the Albiceleste carried by living legend Lionel Messi. The Argentinians are currently leading 1-0 thanks to a Lionel Messi penalty.
90 minutes (or a little more) from a third star. But for whom? In a Lusail stadium acquired for the cause of Albiceleste, French and Argentineans kicked off this 22nd World Cup final, the second in a row for the Blues after their coronation in Russia four years earlier. Les Bleus trailed 1-0 after a converted penalty from Lionel Messi in the 23rd minute following a foul by Ousmane Dembélé on Angel Di Maria in the box.
No surprise in the composition of the reigning world champions: the coach of the France team, Didier Deschamps, has aligned his standard team, with the trio Olivier Giroud-Kylian Mbappé-Ousmane Dembélé in front, the essential Antoine Griezmann in the midfield and a four-man defense which includes Raphaël Varane and Dayot Upamecano, both affected by a virus in recent days. Ditto for Adrien Rabiot who is no longer ill, and returns to the midfield alongside Aurélien Tchouaméni after missing the semi-final against Morocco.
For his part, Lionel Scaloni has chosen to establish Angel Di Maria, who has only played ten minutes since the group stage. The Juventus Turin player is positioned on the right flank of the Argentinian midfielder, along with Rodrigo De Paul, Enzo Fernandez and Alexis Mac Allister. The other little surprise is the tenure of Lyon side Nicolas Tagliafico in place of Marcos Acuna, on the left flank of a four-man defense also including Nicolas Otamendi and Cristian Romero, as well as Nahuel Molina. No other notable change otherwise: Argentina are four in the middle, with Lionel Messi and Julian Alvarez on the attacking front.