Live: Messi’s Argentina takes on Mbappe’s France in Qatar World Cup final

19′

Just outside the Argentina area after some good combination play with Mbappe down the left.

Griezmann takes it and Giroud flies high to head over the bar. But he’s penalised for a foul.

17′

France turn it over in their own half and Messi and Molina combine passes down the right. The cut back goes behind Messi, fortunately for France, but Di Maria sweeps in from the left – but the shot comes from his (far) weaker right foot and goes well over.

14′

France make their first little foray forward, with Mbappe getting a couple of touches on the left edge of the box.

Argentina close it down well.

Then down the other end, Messi gets half a sight of goal and the crowd gets excited. He slides a pass instead of shooting and France shut it down.

Again, I’m suprised at how many touches in space Messi is getting.

11′

The France goalkeeper copped a whack from Romero as he defended that last Argentina raid, and he’s stayed down quite some time with some sore ribs by the look. He gets up gingerly now.

It’s 0-0.

8′

Argentina breaks nicely out of defence, with Messi playing the through ball down the middle.

Di Maria crossed and De Paul tries his luck but it’s deflected wide.

France do enough to deal with the subsequent corner.

Argentina looking strong early, though no genuine worries for France.

5′

He thumped it from distance but it was straight into the arms of Lloris.

An indication, though, of Argentina’s early dominance with the ball. France a little more loose at that back than you’d expect, with Messi getting plenty of touches.

Di Maria has showed up on the left early on as well, which is a surprise.

2′

The two midfielders are already nipping at each other. De Paul took a kick from the Frenchman then pushed him over a couple of minutes later.

Argentina have some good movement on the edge of the French box, with Di Maria attempting to play Alvarez in with a looped pass. He was offside though.

1′

It’s become apparent immediately that, as expected, this is a virtual home game for the Albiceleste. The Argentinian fans are singing and chanting up a storm already.

Legends will be forged, hearts will be broken.

How it all ends, I can’t possibly predict.

It’s almost time.

Two of the best anthems are belted out ahead of the game.

If that doesn’t get you pumped, nothing will.

Many neutrals will be supporting Argentina tonight in the hope that Messi will complete his fairytale.

But the fact is, France have become the dominant national team in the game in modern times.

They have been here and done it before – so they must start as slight favourites.

The starting XIs are out. No surprises for Argentina. Di Maria comes back into the starting side.

Rabiot is back for France.

Argentina starting side

France starting side

The World Cup has been described as the biggest cultural event in the history of humankind – and tonight we have reached the conclusion of the 2022 edition.

And what a doozy of a match we have on our hands – it’s Argentina vs France.

Two footballing powerhouses, both hoping to claim their third world title. Both are led by two genuine superstars too. Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe will be everyone’s focus, but they are only part of the story.

It’s a fascinating match-up, and I can’t wait to bring you updates in our live blog.