By Tushar Bhaduri

Long before the FIFA World Cup kicked off, the dominant narrative centred round Lionel Messi’s supposed tryst with destiny – how the Argentine legend has one last shot at footballing immortality. It is Messi’s fifth World Cup and the fact that his only real competitor as Argentina’s greatest-ever player, Diego Maradona, passed away since the previous edition, raised the stakes for him even higher.

The loss to Saudi Arabia in their opening game was considered a personal setback for Messi, and it was evident that since then, he has taken it upon himself to drag and inspire Argentina towards glory. He has been abrasive, picked up fights with opposition players and coaching staff, argued with referees, and implored the fans to get behind him and his team. This combative streak – which may imply that he has a point to prove or grudge to settle – that many felt Messi didn’t possess, has endeared him even more with Argentine fans, who even see shades of El Diego in him.

Now with the defending champions standing between the Albiceleste and ultimate glory, Argentina can’t just rely on Messi magic to overcome the final hurdle. To be fair, the likes of Julian Alvarez, Alexis Mac Allister and Nahuel Molina have stepped up from time to time. But there’s always the feeling that it’s Messi pulling the strings, with his teammates as well as the coaching staff putting him on a pedestal, almost to the extent of hero-worshipping on and off the field.

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In El Diego’s prime, the Argentina team was described as ‘Maradona and 10 others’. The script doesn’t seem to have changed too much in 2022, even though the ‘others’ may be quality players in their own right.

One can’t accuse France of possessing such a mentality. Maybe, being defending champions and contesting four of the seven World Cup finals dating back to 1998 imparts a special kind of confidence and aura to every player in the squad.

Head coach Didier Deschamps, a World Cup winner himself, both as captain and coach, hasn’t allowed any primadonna attitude among his players. The team is the focus. Kylian Mbappe may be the present and future of football, but he is not the only threat Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni should be wary of. Olivier Giroud has led the line admirably, with his four goals in the tournament taking him past Thierry Henry as France’s all-time highest scorer. And if anyone can be anointed the best player of the World Cup without scoring a single goal (till now), look no further than midfield maestro Antoine Griezmann.

When one looks at the players Deschamps doesn’t have at his disposal at the World Cup (Karim Benzema, Paul Pogba, N’Golo Kante, Lucas Hernandez, Presnel Kimpembe, Christopher Nkunku being some of the prominent names), it seems logical not to focus on individuals.

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And the goals have come from a variety of sources, apart from the usual suspects. Adrien Rabiot, Aurelien Tchouameni, Theo Hernandez and even substitute Randal Kolo Muani may not be names that will give oppositions sleepless nights before a match, but have cropped up on the scoresheet at crucial junctures.

Teammates, but rivals

Both Messi and Mbappe, teammates at PSG, have five goals going into the final, but the Argentine has more assists. This can be partly explained by the fact that almost every attacking move that the South American side makes goes through their captain. On the other hand, the young French star hasn’t found the net in his last two outings against England and Morocco.

But his mere presence makes an impact, as often more than one defender is assigned on him when he gets the ball. Mbappe’s pace over the first 10 yards or so is frightening. If an opposition player comes in for a covering tackle, it opens up space elsewhere on the pitch, for the benefit of other French players.

That’s how Tchouameni got the room to shoot in the first goal against England. In the semifinal, Mbappe attracted three or four defenders towards himself in the Moroccan box, before he took his shots, which deflected and fell in the path of eventual scorers Hernandez and Kolo Muani.

Therein lies the conundrum for Scaloni and the Argentine think tank. If Mbappe has the opportunity to run at the defence and get near or into the penalty area, he may not need any help from teammates to strike.

France defeated Argentina 4-3 in the Round of 16 at the 2018 World Cup, with Mbappe scoring twice. That loss is still raw in the memory of La Albiceleste fans. Since then, Messi and Mbappe have turned out for the same club side. But the relations between them may not be as warm as say, between Messi and Neymar, who also plays for PSG.

Mbappe has often said that he can’t play in his favourite position for his club side, while for France he has more of a free role down the left flank with not much defensive duties attached. He may have also raised Messi’s hackles by claiming that South American football is not as developed and competitive as in Europe, and Argentina and Brazil often have it easy in World Cup qualifying. Messi has countered by saying that outsiders may not understand the difficulty of travelling around the continent and going to various venues, some of which may be at very high altitude.

The final is likely to witness either the crowning glory of a great career, or the passing of the torch to the pre-eminent player of the present and the years to come.

And a little bit of needle in a battle of such high stakes is hardly out of place.