World Cup

[monks data]

World Cup | Final

Dec 18, 2022 at 3pm UK

Lusail Iconic Stadium

Argentina
3 - 3
France

Messi (23' pen., 108'), di Maria (36')
Fernandez (45+7'), Acuna (90+8'), Paredes (114'), Montiel (116'), Martinez (126')

FT
(aet)

Mbappe (80' pen., 81', 118' pen.)
Rabiot (55'), Thuram (87'), Giroud (90+5')

Argentina win 4-2 on penalties

Kylian Mbappe out to break World Cup final goalscoring record

By Ben Knapton, Senior Reporter | 17 December 2022

France striker Kylian Mbappe sets out to break a World Cup goalscoring record in Sunday's final with Argentina at the Lusail Iconic Stadium.

France attacker Kylian Mbappe will be aiming to make World Cup final history when Les Bleus tackle Argentina in Sunday's final at the Lusail Iconic Stadium.

The Paris Saint-Germain star is involved in a heated battle with teammate Lionel Messi for the Golden Boot, having found the back of the net five times in Qatar so far.

Mbappe opened his World Cup campaign with one strike in his side's opening 4-1 win over Australia before scoring both goals in a last 16-clinching 2-1 success over Denmark on matchday two in Group D.

The 23-year-old propelled France through to the quarter-finals after striking a brace in a 3-1 success over Poland, although he has failed to net in subsequent meetings with England and Morocco.

Nevertheless, Mbappe is within touching distance of departing the Middle East with the Golden Boot in the bag, with Messi also sitting on five strikes so far.

France's Kylian Mbappe applauds fans after the match on November 22, 2022 © Reuters

Furthermore, the ex-Monaco starlet made the net ripple for Les Bleus in the 2018 final against Croatia, scoring the fourth and final France goal in that 4-2 win at the age of just 19.

Should Mbappe manage to repeat that feat on Sunday, he will set a new record as the youngest player to ever score in more than one World Cup final at 23 years and 363 days.

Brazil legend Pele famously scored twice in the 1958 final against Sweden aged just 17, but the forward was unable to take part in the 1962 final due to injury and had to wait until 1970 to score in his second World Cup final.

Mbappe will celebrate his 24th birthday two days after the World Cup final, and the Frenchman is also out to join an exclusive club of players to have scored in multiple World Cup finals.

Compatriot Zinedine Zidane and Pele are two of the four players to have previously done so, while the latter's fellow Brazilian Vava did so in the 1958 and 1962 finals.

Kylian Mbappe in action for Paris Saint-Germain on October 11, 2022 © Reuters

The fourth and final name in that exclusive club is Paul Breitner, who scored for West Germany in the 1974 and 1982 showpiece events, and Antoine Griezmann could also achieve that feat this weekend.

The 31-year-old netted against Croatia in the Russia 2018 final, but he is yet to score a goal at the 2022 World Cup and has instead impressed with his creative numbers, setting up three goals so far.

Griezmann enters the World Cup final having created 21 chances for his teammates during the tournament - the most of any player - and the all-time record for chances created at World Cups is Alain Giresse's 24 from 1982 and 1986.

France were handed several illness scares as a virus confined five players to the sidelines over the past week, with Adrien Rabiot, Dayot Upamecano, Kingsley Coman, Raphael Varane and Ibrahima Konate all affected.

However, Didier Deschamps is understood to have had all 24 players involved in full training on Saturday as France aim to become just the third nation after Italy and Brazil to win back-to-back World Cups.