2022 FIFA World Cup Final preview - Argentina vs. France
LUSAIL – The 2022 FIFA World Cup Final is an upcoming association football match, the culmination of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the 22nd edition of FIFA's competition for men's national football teams. The match is scheduled to be played at Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar, on 18 December 2022, the national day of Qatar, and will be contested by Argentina and France.
- Background
The defending champions from the 2018 World Cup were France, which made this the first time since the 2002 final in which a team had consecutive appearances at the finals, and the first since 1998 where the title holders qualified for the subsequent final – both were achieved by Brazil. France have claimed two World Cups, in 1998 and 2018. The French also reached the 2006 final, but fell to Italy on penalties. Under the management of Didier Deschamps, who won the 1998 tournament as a player, the French failed to conquer the 2014 World Cup, UEFA Euros 2016 and 2020, but successfully clinched the 2018 World Cup title. Due to the status as the world champions, France also entered Qatar as one of the favourites to win. France also aims to emulate the achievement of Italy in 1934 and 1938 and Brazil in 1958 and 1962 as the third country to successfully defend the World Cup title. Didier Deschamps is seeking to become the second manager to win two FIFA World Cup titles, after Vittorio Pozzo with Italy in 1934 and 1938. Having won the 1998 tournament as a player, Deschamps is also seeking to become the third person to win three FIFA World Cup titles, after Brazilian legends Pelé (all as a player) and Mário Zagallo (two as a player, one as a manager).
Argentina, similar to France, have won the World Cup twice before, in 1978 and 1986. They have also finished as losing finalists thrice, in 1930, 1990, and 2014. After the 2014 final loss, they went on to lose two consecutive Copa América finals to Chile, in 2015 and 2016. After a string of disappointing performances in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, where they lost to eventual champions France in the first knockout round, and the 2019 Copa América, where they finished third, newly-appointed coach Lionel Scaloni led Argentina to their first international title in 28 years, as Argentina defeated Brazil 1–0 in the 2021 Copa América Final, handing captain Lionel Messi his first international title with Argentina. After winning the 2022 Finalissima, beating European champions Italy 3–0, Argentina entered Qatar as one of the favourites to win.
- Head-to-head
The two nations are meeting in the knockout stage for the second straight World Cup. In 2018 in Russia at Kazan Arena in the round of 16, France won the encounter 4–3 in what The Independent called "one of the greatest World Cup games of all time". Antoine Griezmann opened the scoring with a penalty before Ángel Di María and Gabriel Mercado put Argentina in front, with France then scoring the next three goals courtesy of Benjamin Pavard's volley outside of the box – which was later voted as the goal of the tournament – and then Kylian Mbappé twice. Sergio "Kun" Agüero reduced the deficit to one in stoppage time, but Argentina was unable to equalise and send the match to extra time.
- Ball
The match ball for the 2022 FIFA World Cup semi-finals, third place match, and final was announced on 11 December 2022. It is a variation of the Adidas Al Rihla named the Adidas Al-Hilm, meaning 'The Dream' in Arabic, a reference to every nation's dream of lifting the FIFA World Cup. Whilst the technical aspects of the ball are the same, the colour is different from the Al-Rihla balls used in the group stages and preceding knockout games, with a Gold Metallic, maroon, Collegiate Burgundy, and red design, a reference to the national colors of host nation Qatar and the golden colors shared by the final's venue Lusail Stadium and the FIFA World Cup Trophy. It is the fifth special ball for FIFA World Cup final matches, after the +Teamgeist Berlin, Jo'bulani, Brazuca Final Rio, and Telstar Mechta.
- Venue
The final will be held at Lusail Stadium in Lusail, located about 15 kilometers (9.3 mi) north of the city center of Doha. The stadium was intended to host the final as part of Qatar's World Cup bid, and was confirmed as the final venue on July 15, 2020. The stadium was allocated to also host nine other matches, with six in the group stage and three other knockout fixtures.
The Lusail Stadium, owned by the Qatar Football Association, was built as part of Qatar's winning bid for the World Cup. The stadium was designed by British firm Foster + Partners and Populous, supported by MANICA Architecture. The stadium will be cooled using solar power and is claimed to have a carbon zero footprint. Construction began in April 2017, and was planned to finish in 2020. Completion of the stadium was postponed, with construction ultimately finished in November 2021. The stadium hosted its first match, the Lusail Super Cup, on September 9, 2022, later than expected.
- Referees and officials
Polish referee Szymon Marciniak was named as the referee of the final on December 15, 2022, with fellow Poles Paweł Sokolnicki and Tomasz Listkiewicz appointed as assistant referees. Marciniak became a FIFA referee in 2011, and had previously served as referee at the UEFA Euro 2016 and 2018 FIFA World Cup, as well as during the 2018 UEFA Super Cup. Earlier in the tournament, Marciniak officiated the France–Denmark group stage game, as well as the Argentina–Australia match in the round of 16. It will be the first time that a Polish referee will lead the team of officials at a World Cup final, and the second time that a Polish referee was included among the officials during such a match, after Michał Listkiewicz served as a linesman during the 1990 FIFA World Cup Final.
Ismail Elfath and Kathryn Nesbitt of the United States were appointed as fourth official and reserve assistant referee, respectively, while another Pole, Tomasz Kwiatkowski, will lead the video assistant referee (VAR) team. Venezuelan Juan Soto will serve as assistant video assistant referee, American Kyle Atkins will be the offside video assistant referee, while the role of support video assistant referee was assigned to Mexican Fernando Guerrero. German Bastian Dankert and American Corey Parker will serve as stand-by video assistant referee and stand-by assistant video assistant referee, respectively.
- Invited guests
Several heads of state are expected to be in attendance, among them Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, French president Emmanuel Macron, and Argentinian president Alberto Fernández. Per custom, members of the FIFA Council and FIFA president Gianni Infantino will also be present.
- Match rules
a. 90 minutes (2×45min)
b. 30 minutes of extra time if necessary (last played in 2014)
c. Penalty shoot-out if scores still level (last played in 2006)
d. Maximum of fifteen named substitutes
e. Maximum of five substitutions, with a sixth allowed in extra time*
*Each team will be given only three opportunities to make substitutions, with a fourth opportunity in extra time, excluding substitutions made at half-time, before the start of extra time and at half-time in extra time.
- Sources and match updates:
