The eyes of football lovers from all over the world will be turned to the Lusail Stadium lawn from 12h (Brasília time) next Sunday (18). But the attention will focus on the number 10 of the two teams that dispute the decision of the Qatar Cup, the Argentine Lionel Messi and the French Kylian Mbappé, and in what can be considered the passage of the baton in the post of greatest football player in activity.
48 hours to go… ⏳
Who will get their hands on the #FIFAWorldCup?? pic.twitter.com/xTUEjnhBrE
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 16, 2022
Messi arrives at the decision with the clear objective of seeking the most important title of a victorious career. National champion on numerous occasions defending Barcelona (Spain) and PSG (France), in addition to conquering Europe and the world with the shirt of the Catalan team, the striker has a much more modest gallery of trophies when it comes to the adult national team Of your country.
For Argentina, Messi’s big title is the 2021 Copa America, achieved at the Maracanã stadium after a 1-0 victory over the Brazilian team. Later, he even helped in the conquest of the Finalissima (confrontation between Copa América and Eurocopa champions) in June 2022.
However, the 35-year-old Argentine (considered by many to be the best player in the world, and who is a champion of individual titles, such as the Ballon d’Or by the French magazine France Football, an award that he has already taken home on seven occasions) still lacks, the maximum conquest for an athlete of the modality, the World Cup.
The Argentine started this journey young, at the age of 19, when he played in the 2006 World Cup (Germany). Pointed out as a possible revelation of the competition, he was unable to prevent Argentina’s elimination in the quarterfinals, against Germany. Then Messi played in the Cups of 2010 (South Africa), 2014 (Brazil) and Russia (2018).
?? https://t.co/WEA7pK0ENs pic.twitter.com/nPNwsKDTKw
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 12, 2022
In the 2014 World Cup, he was very close to the coveted title of a World Cup for his country, but ended up having the dream frustrated after defeating Germany at the Maracanã stadium, in the final. Now, in next Sunday’s decision against France, the expectation is that the outcome will be different.
However, on the other side of the lawn will be another very talented number 10: Mbappé. The Frenchman is considered one of the players with the greatest potential to occupy the rank of best player in the world in the coming years, filling a void left by veterans Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Like the Argentine ace, the Frenchman debuted in a World Cup at the age of 19, but the outcome was very different. Mbappé received space in the France team and was an important part of the title achieved in 2018 in the final with Croatia.
Since then, he has enjoyed increasingly impressive performances, both for the France national team and for PSG, a team where Messi is one of his teammates.
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 10, 2022
In Qatar it is no different. Mbappé has helped his team with runs, dribbles and goals (some of them decisive, as in the victories over Denmark and Poland). The number 10 even shares the World Cup artillery with Messi, each with five goals.
Thus, the final match of the Qatar Cup will be of great importance to define the best player in the competition, the top scorer and, who knows, even the best player in the world of the current season. But more importantly, it could be the opportunity to usher in a new reign in world football.
