DOHA: The two Ms remaining in the fray are Lionel (Messi) and Kylian (Mbappe) and both of them are on the threshold of history in their own way. 

For the Argentine star the importance of the summit clash is much more than the French stalwart. It is an opportunity for the legendary Messi to caress the golden trophy for the first time in career and that could be the crowning glory, especially after he emotionally said this (final) could be his last of national career.

Before getting more into the individual achievements, let us see what the history states for France and Argentina, who will crosswords on Sunday (December18) evening.

A glance into history books is enough to understand that only two countries have lifted the Jules Rimet trophy in consecutive World Cup tournaments. This means defending champions France are one step closer to the feat.

First, it was Italy who won the World Cup in 1934 and 1938 and two decades later Brazil lifted the trophy in 1958 and 1962.

France won their first World Cup in 1998 and won the Russian edition in 2018 they now have a chance to clinch it again in Qatar. It will be a great achievement for Mbappe and France if they manage to stop Messi’s Argentine juggernaut to make history.

In 2018, Kylian Mbappe became only the second teenager ever to score in a World Cup final. Before that it was a 17-year-old Pele who scored the 1958 final. 

Statistically speaking only three countries – Brazil (five times), Germany (four times) and Italy (four times) — have won more trophies than the Les Blues, who are on par with Argentina, the other finalists having won the pennant twice.

For Argentina, the last final they played was in 2014, and unlike the defending champions, the South American team’s route to the final was not convincing enough, especially the defeat to Saudi Arabia in the tournament opener was a shocker.

If anything that has inspired Argentina thus far has been the magical dance of Messi. There were also tense moments when Messi was subject to scrutiny by Fifa’s disciplinary committee for an unlikely sudden burst of anger and also a moment of pain due to cramp in the semifinal against Croatia.

His temperament forced many to compare this usually calm man with the mannerism of another Argentine legend Diego Maradona. The star has always mentioned in Qatar that he is influenced by Diego and wants to emulate his moment of crowning glory.

Messi might be getting older at 35 but his swift legs remind us of the young Argentine lad we remember. For the legend this is only his second final since 2014 and he is determined to lift the only elusive trophy in style.

Can the world’s best (though there is still the debate between him and Cristiano Ronaldo for being called the GOAT) make his final appearance in national colours the most memorable?

Well, only Sunday will tell. 

Having already scored five goals in the six games he has played in Qatar and Messi already a strong contender for the Golden Boot with France’s Mbappe.

Meanwhile, In the cricket-crazy subcontinent, some have already drawn parallels between Messi’s finale with the Sachin Tendulkar moment of 2011, but the Argentine stands much taller on many factors.

The two Ms (Messi is Magical and Mbappe is a Miracle) are magnificent, but we will have to wait for the Sunday moment to find out who will be majestic.

Messi can’t mess it up now and on the other hand, Mbappe will hope for a miracle to help him upstage the legend. All said and done the stage is set for a nail-biter and friends take care of your nails.

The World Cup will return after four years and Mbappe is sure to be present there too. So, I hope for the best finish to the Qatar World Cup! Maybe that is the popular liking of all football fans. Isn’t it?

TAILPIECE:

The giant killers could not kill yet another giant but they have done enough to win hearts. Moroccans have been rewriting the history books on the way to the semifinals, but the fifth-minute French goal undid their nerves, and couldn’t recover thereafter. However, they have etched their names in golden letters and they deserve to win the best place in Fifa’s array of awards for the Qatar World Cup.