FIFA World Cup 2022: 5 top records at stake ahead of the final between France and Argentina

On 18 December 2022, the stage is set for the FIFA World Cup final in Lusail Stadium when Argentina and France will take on each other. Argentina will look to win thi store for the third time after a long gap of 36 years. Meanwhile, France will look to win this title for consecutive years. 

All eyes will be on the main battle between Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe. Both players are in contention to win the Golden Boot award this time around. However, apart from it, there are several records at the stake in this clash which can get galore after one team win this title in Lusail Stadium.    

Here are the top five records that are at stake ahead of the FIFA World Cup final between France and Argentina:

4th team to win three or more World Cup titles

Argentina (Image Source: Twitter)

As of now, both Argentina and France have won this World Cup title twice in their history. Meanwhile, Brazil have won five titles so far while Germany and Italy have managed to win four titles each. So, both teams will look to become the third team to win this FIFA World Cup title three or more times.

Argentina have won the World Cups in 1978 and 1986. They have been runners-up three times: in 1930, 1990, and 2014. Meanwhile, France have won the World Cups in 1998 and 2018. They finished as runners-up, losing on penalties (5–3) to Italy in 2006 in Germany. The French team finished third twice in 1958 and 1986.       

Golden Boot race

Lionel Messi and Julian Alvarez (Image Source: Twitter)

Golden Boot is a prestigious award that a player gets after scoring the most goals in FIFA World Cup. However, currently, four players from both these teams are in the race to win the Golden Boot this time around. Kylian Mbappe has scored five goals and managed two assists so far. On the other hand, Lionel Messi has scored five goals also and managed three assists.

Apart from them, Olivier Giroud and Julian Alvarez are also on that list. Giroud has scored four goals with no assist. Julian Alvarez has also scored four goals without any assists so far in this tournament. So, all eyes will be on these players as any one of them will look to win the Golden Boot this year.

Golden Ball for Lionel Messi for the second time

Lionel Messi (Image Source: Twitter)

In this edition of the FIFA World Cup, Lionel Messi has shown some top-class performances for Argentina. As of now, he has scored five goals and managed three assists. So, he is one of the front-runners to win the Golden Ball award this time around. Generally, a player gets this prestigious award for being the best player in the tournament.

In 2014, Lionel Messi took Argentina to the final. But, they lost against Germany by 1-0. In that edition, he won the Golden Ball award for scoring four goals and one assist. So, the Argentine superstar has a chance to become the first player to win this award for the second time in World Cups.

Chance for France to become the third team to defend the title

Didier Deschamps (Image Source: Twitter)

France came to this tournament as the defending champions after winning the title in 2018. However, despite not having many top players like Kimpembe, Pogba, and Kante, they have managed to reach the final again in this FIFA World Cup. Now, they have the chance to become the first team to defend this title in the last 60 years.

They will become just the third team overall to successfully defend the title. Italy won back-to-back titles in 1934 and 1938 and Brazil in 1958 and 1962. Even, it will be a great achievement for France’s head coach, Didier Deschamps as he will become the first manager since 1938 to win back-to-back World Cup titles. He will also become the first to have won a World Cup title as a player and two titles as a manager.

Most goals for Kylian Mbappe in a World Cup before turning 24 years old 

Kylian Mbappe (Image Source: Twitter)

Kylian Mbappe has shown great potential in the World Cup for France. In the 2018 edition, he scored four goals and his form was instrumental in France’s journey to the World Cup triumph. Now, in this edition also, he has scored five goals and managed two assists so far. He is leading the race for the Golden Boot award also.

Now, if he manages to score one more goal in the final, Mbappe can become the highest goal-scorer in a single edition of this tournament before turning 24 years old. Then, he will be tied with Brazil’s Pele, Argentina’s Mario Kempes, and Colombia’s James Rodrigues. If somehow he scores a brace, then Mbappe will be the new highest scorer at this age only.