The culmination of the 2022 World Cup is approaching.  This Sunday, we’ll get to see the matchup of two teams that battled their way to the final stage: France vs. Argentina.  This World Cup has been one to remember, and both teams have rightfully earned their spot to compete for the ultimate soccer achievement.  

France, the returning World Cup champions, is favored in this match-up.  France won their first two games, beating Australia and Denmark.  With a spot secured in the round of 16, France played their backup squad against Tunisia, where they lost 1-0.  Moving on to the knockout rounds, France won an intense game against Poland 3-1.  In the quarterfinals, they faced their toughest opponent yet, England.  England arguably had just as talented a team as France, and this game went down to the wire.  In the end, France was able to pull off a 2-1 victory after Harry Kane of England missed a crucial PK.  Advancing to the semis, France was one game away from reaching the World Cup final.  France could have played Spain, Sweden, or Ronaldo’s Portugal, but shockingly, they faced Morocco in the semifinal.  Severe underdogs, Morocco surpassed everyone’s expectations in their lengthy tournament run, but unfortunately, their season came to a halt.  France beat Morocco 2-0 and punched their ticket to the finals.

Argentina’s journey was much more stress-inducing.  Argentina was the victim of the biggest upset in World Cup history, losing 2-1 to Saudi Arabia in their first group-stage match.  Despite this initial hurdle, Argentina fought back, beating Mexico 2-0 as well as Poland 2-0.  Moving on to the round of 16, Argentina defeated Australia 2-1.  Then, in probably the most exciting match of the World Cup, Argentina faced the Netherlands in the quarter-finals.  Argentina initially went up 2-0, but the Netherlands clawed their way back, scoring two goals, with the second goal scored with less than a minute left on the clock.  After a 0-0 overtime, the match went to PKs.  The Netherlands scored 3 of their 5 penalties, while Argentina scored 4 of their 5.  With this nail-biting result, Argentina moved on to the semifinals to face Croatia.  Then, Argentina beat Croatia in style, winning 3-0.

This World Cup final is highly anticipated, with two of the best teams competing at the highest level.  France has more talent, with players like Kylian Mbappe, Karim Benzema, and Ousmane Dembélé, but Argentina is led by the greatest soccer player of all time, Lionel Messi.  Will Messi avenge his 2014 world cup final loss, or will France repeat and be crowned world champions once more?