Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi are aiming to cement their legacy into World Cup football history, as Sunday’s grand finale of the 2022 World Cup between Argentina and France will not only be a clash of generational talents but also an opportunity to be immortalized among the all-time greats on football’s biggest stage.
Both players who are making their second trip to the finals will be shooting their own respective legacies which will forever be revered in the annals of football folklore.
Lionel Messi who will play his final 90 minutes for Argentina after indicating his international retirement after the tournament, will have eyes only on the Golden trophy on Sunday as he relishes his second shot at lifting his first world title.
Messi of course led Argentina to the finals in 2014 where they were edged out by a brilliant German team 1-0.
The Argentina maestro who has recently surpassed fellow icon Gabriel Batistuta’s record of 95 goals to become the country’s all-time record goal scorer, will be looking to end his career the best way possible with the one trophy which has eluded him.
The Paris Saint Germaine (PSG) striker who has previously won the Golden ball award for being the most valuable player, is not only a strong candidate for reclaiming that title but also for the Golden Boot award having entered the finals as the joint leader with five goals.
The player who he will be contesting against in all these categories is coincidentally his PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe.
The 23-year-old, like Messi, is contesting his second finals having led reigning champions France’s return to the finals with five goals of his own.
Unlike Messi however, he is chasing his second world title having been an integral part of their 2018 triumph in Russia.
Widely viewed as the front-runner to shine brightest among the next generation of stars when Messi leaves, Mbappe has already given a glimpse of why he is touted to take over as football’s next megastar, after becoming the youngest player since Pele’s to rack up nine world cup goals before the age of 24.
Not only is the PSG forward chasing the Golden Boot and Golden ball awards, but he could also join the Brazilian Legend among an illustrious group of players to have won the Word Cup multiple times.
Pele’s three titles (1958,1962 and 1970) lead the list of 21 players who managed to hoist the symbol of global football dominance more than once.
No other player has won the title more than twice.
Mbappe is also seeking further tournament history as just the 18th player to have won back-to-back titles making France only the third country behind Brazil and Italy to have done the same.
Argentina and France, two-time winners respectively, are seeking their third World Cup in Qatar on Sunday. Irrespective of the winner history will be made for either nation on several levels individually and collectively.
