During the World Cup Closing Ceremony, artists from around the world performed songs from the official soundtrack of the competition held in Qatar.
Lusail Stadium performers included Nigerian singer Davido and Qatar-based songwriter Aisha, Congolese artist Gims, and Puerto Rican reggaeton singer Ozuna.
Featuring a fireworks and light show, the show was meant to celebrate the world coming together for a month-long tournament in the Gulf Emirates.
Lionel Messi will lead an Argentine side that includes Ángel Di Maria in the starting line-up for the first time since suffering a foot injury in the final round of the group game against Poland.
With Di Maria replacing Leandro Paredes in midfield, Argentina are again in a 4-4-2 formation, with Messi one of the two forwards. Nicolas Tagliafico is preferred over Marcos Acuna at left-back.
Kylian Mbappe will start in the French front line alongside Olivier Giroud, who has overcome a minor knee injury. Ibrahima Konate and Yusuf will be replaced by Dayou Pamecano and Adrian Rabiot respectively for his Fofana.
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World Cup final line-up:
Argentina: Emiliano Martinez. Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Nicolas Otamendi and Nicolas Tagliafico. Angel Di Maria, Rodrigo De Paul, Enzo Fernandez, Alexis Mac Allister. Julián Alvarez, Lionel Messi.
France: Hugo Loris. Jules Kunde, Rafael Varane, Dayot Upamecano, Theo Hernández. Aurélien Chuameni, Antoine Griezmann, Adrien Rabiot. Ousmane Dembele, Kylian Mbappé and Olivier Giroud.
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With blue, white and red face paint, Champagne is on the ice and France are crossing limbs in hopes of Les Bleus beating Argentina to clinch their third World Cup title.
French television broadcast live as the French team left their Qatari hotel for the championship match and the players arrived at the stadium. Among them, a smiling Kylian Mbappe seemed particularly relaxed.
In Paris, the metro operator marked this momentous occasion by temporarily renaming one of its stations and changing the stop “Argentina” to “Argentina – France, let’s go Le Blues!”.
Past and current players have sent messages of support.
“Playing in the final of the World Cup is my childhood dream. Let’s go get the third star! Ares les Bleu!” Zinedine Zidane posted on Instagram.
Ballon d’Or-winning striker Karim Benzema has missed the World Cup with a torn muscle in his left thigh. all together. let’s go. “
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World Cup final referee Simon Marciniak was the first Polish player to take charge of the title game.
Marciniak, 41, missed last year’s European Championships due to heart problems.
“Only me and my team know how difficult times have been for me.
Marciniak officiated both finalists already in Qatar. He handled France’s 2-1 victory over Denmark in Group D and Argentina’s 2-1 victory over Australia in the Round of 16.
One of his assistants in the final follows his father’s touchline procedure. Tomasz Listkiewicz is an assistant running the line, much like his father Michal did in his 1990 final in Rome, when defending champions Argentina lost his 0-1 loss to West Germany. Raise the flag as
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The World Cup champions will win $42 million in prize money for their football federations, while the team that loses in the final will win $30 million from the $440 million FIFA Prize Fund.
Not all the money goes to players, but they are expected to win a good portion. French athletes such as Kylian Mbappe will receive a €554,000 ($586,000) bonus from the federation for winning the final, according to a report by the French sports daily L’Equipe.
Third-placed Croatia will receive $27 million in prize money, while Morocco, who finished fourth, will receive $25 million.
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The Argentines, embroiled in years of economic turmoil, have seen their national team come together amidst a sense of national unity and joy rarely seen in a country with one of the worst inflation rates in the world. I woke up ready to see them fight for their third World Cup title. world.
Argentina will face France in the final in Qatar, with fan Guillermo Ortiz saying “the streets are covered with flags”.
Argentina last reached the World Cup final in 2014, losing to Germany. Everyone in this country agrees that the anticipation and sense of excitement for this year’s game is much higher than it was in Brazil.
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For Lionel Messi, now is the time.
The once-in-a-generation career of Argentina’s superstar will be defined, for many, by whether he leads the country to a World Cup title.
Will the 35-year-old finally win football’s biggest award and join Pele and Diego Maradona in the Hall of Fame of the Greatest Players of All Time?
Standing in front of him are defending champions France and Kylian Mbappe, the player best positioned to be football’s marquee name after Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
if he hasn’t already.
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Argentina has arguably the most dedicated fans at the World Cup.
Known for their rhythmic singing, relentless drumming and trance-like ferocity, few nations can match their history of World Cup success.
Argentina won the World Cup in 1978 and 1986 and lost the final three times. This enthusiasm will grow as Lionel Messi leads Argentina against defending champions France in the final in Qatar.
Argentines pride themselves on their intensity and are proud to be known all over the world.
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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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