DSunday afternoon, at 4 p.m., when the Argentina-France final kicks off, we would like to be in the mind of Nasser al-Khelaïfi, the president of PSG. What will he think about every time his player Lionel Messi is in a scoring position? Same question as soon as Mbappé overflows or starts to slalom. Will his enthusiasm be just as marked? In any case, whatever the result, Al-Khelaïfi will be one of the big winners, because the emblematic player of the victorious team will be one of the figureheads of his Parisian club. He could not therefore dream of a better final for a World Cup organized by his country, Qatar.
If the national team quickly disappeared from the competition after three defeats, the other soft power of the emirate is full of cards with the poster for Sunday which sanctions the success of the Qatari strategy. Disturbing fact when you consider that these two diplomatic successes of Qatar are linked to the same meeting with Nicolas Sarkozy in 2010.
Handover?
We bet that before the start of the competition the president of PSG had dreamed of a combination of three possible finals with his three stars: Brazil-Argentina (Neymar against Messi), Brazil-France (Neymar against Mbappé) and France-Argentina ( Messi against Mbappe). The first hypothesis would have ignited South America where the rivalry between the two countries is almost centuries old. The second would have offered a revenge for the 1998 final, and let’s be sure that we would have brought out the old clashes at PSG – the penaltygate in particular – between the Bondynois and Neymar.
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Sunday’s poster, after the victory of the French against Morocco in the semi-final, adds another spice: the confrontation between two generations, a possible handover between the two players for world supremacy and the reward of the next Ball gold which will most certainly be awarded to one of the two, depending on the result. As if to better illustrate this rivalry, the two players are now tied, and leading, in the number of goals scored in this competition, five in total, with Messi ahead of Mbappé by one in the number of assists.
Repair an anomaly
If Argentina wins, it will certainly be thanks to Messi, who made Qatar his mission land before his international retirement, his swan song, his last lap, he, who has never won a FIFA Cup world, unlike its glorious elder, Maradona. Rumors are beginning to circulate that Fifa would prefer to see Argentina triumph so that the trophy is finally lifted by one of the best players in the history of football. Mbappé is still young and he has already raised one. History can therefore weigh heavily in this final which would in short be an opportunity to repair an anomaly.
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Some are already pointing to the “house” refereeing from which the Albiceleste benefited in the quarter-finals and semi-finals. La Pulga did not crush the competition with his genius – 4 of his 5 goals were scored from penalties – but he showed that he had returned to his best level in a team entirely devoted to his cause. It’s obviously the last chance for Messi and we must fear eleven Argentine players driven by an incredible determination – the Argentine in ordinary times already needs little motivation to turn into a warrior. Argentina’s emotional and symbolic investment in this sport has very deep roots and refers to the geopolitical failure of a country that had everything to succeed and which finds itself at the bottom of the class, reduced to reigning over a rectangle. green where it continues to be very good. Top scorer, best passer, best player: Sunday will perhaps be the triumph of La Puce who will take everything.
Pele’s equal
Opposite, his teammate at PSG Mbappé who gets on better with him than with Neymar. Until then, Mbappé has fulfilled his contract without splashing the competition with his talent either, except against Poland. More emphasis has been placed on the performances of Giroud and Griezmann, which may be an excellent motivation for him to surpass himself in the final. History is also on the march for those who will celebrate their 24the birthday Tuesday. He can become with Pelé the youngest player to win two World Cups. To bring France into the very closed club of countries that have won it twice, after Italy and Brazil.
More than eleven years separate the two players. The duration of a career. In other words, a chasm. One saw his twilight that he illuminates very beautiful remains that all other players would be satisfied with. The other is about to reach its zenith. Each team has its anti-Messi or anti-Mbappé plan. This focus confirms the star system that football has brought to incandescence. Let’s be sure that the two players will shake hands with the mutual respect that characterizes their relationship.
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If we had to get wet, we would put a coin on Messi who, more than his younger brother, has experience of very big meetings and who has almost never missed in such circumstances. Let’s not forget either that Argentina – and Messi – still have their backs in the 2014 final, where they were better than Germany, who finally narrowly won. But whatever the result, let’s hope the director does a long shot in the stands on the face of Nasser al-Khelaifi, who will be the other king of the evening.