France and Argentina face off in the 2022 FIFA World Cup final. They are both bidding to win their third title.
Will Lionel Messi finally get his crowning moment Will Kylian Mbappe be the next great player? France will be the first nation since Brazil 60 years ago to play back-to-back in this tournament.
The manager’s team selections will likely have a significant impact on which narrative is chosen between the two teams bookmakers are having difficulty separating.
You can see the lineups below to check out the Lusail-Iconic Stadium matchup.
Argentina: Starting 11
(4-4-2, right to left): 23. E. Martinez (GK) — 26. Molina, 13. Romero, 19. Otamendi, 3. Tagliafico — 11. Di Maria, 7. De Paul, 24. Fernandez, 20. Mac Allister — 10. Messi, 9. Alvarez
* Injured: none
* Suspended : none
Lionel Scaloni was asked by the head coach whether Angel Di Maria should be brought in to replace Leandro Paredes, who played in the 4-4-2 formation that beat Croatia.
He chose to travel with PSG and Real Madrid former player who was a sub for Germany’s 2014 defeat.
Argentina’s injury doubt was Papu. However, he is available to play and will be on the bench. Fullbacks Marcos Acuna (suspended) and Gonzalo Montel (suspended) will return to the squad.
The latter, despite being originally named in the starting team, has now been dropped. Nicolas Tagliafico is his replacement as left-back.
France begins 11
(4-3-3, right to left): 1. Lloris (GK) — 5. Kounde, 4. Varane, 18. Upamecano, 22. T. Hernandez — 8. Tchouameni, 7. Griezmann, 14. Rabiot — 11. Dembele, 9. Giroud, 10. Mbappe.
* Injured: none
* Suspended: none
Deschamps decided to name Dayot Upecano and Raphael Varane as defense, despite Ibrahima Konate’s impressive semifinal performance against Croatia.
However, his team is expecting the unexpected. Adrien Rabiot has returned to the midfield following a bout with illness. Both Aurelien Tuchouameni (hip), and Theo Hernandez(knee), are fit enough for him to start.
Kingsley Coman will also be sitting on the bench after he has recovered from the flu which caused him to miss Friday’s training.
Despite rumors that Karim Benzema might be making an appearance, there is no surprise return to the team.
Argentina vs France World Cup squads
These are the names of Argentina and France on Qatar’s World Cup Squad List (caps correct at start of Qatar 2022)
| Position | No. | Player | Club | Age | Caps |
| GK | 1 | Franco Armani | River Plate (ARG) | 36 | 18 |
| GK | 23 | Emiliano Martinez | Aston Villa (ENG) | 30 | 19 |
| GK | 12 | Geronimo Rulli | Villarreal (SPA) | 30 | 4 |
| DEF | 8 | Marcos Acuna | Sevilla (SPA) | 30 | 43 |
| DEF | 2 | Juan Foyth | Villarreal (SPA) | 24 | 16 |
| DEF | 25 | Lisandro Martinez | Man United (ENG) | 24 | 10 |
| DEF | 26 | Nahuel Molina | Atletico Madrid (SPA) | 24 | 19 |
| DEF | 4 | Gonzalo Montiel | Sevilla (SPA) | 25 | 19 |
| DEF | 19 | Nicolas Otamendi | Benfica (POR) | 34 | 93 |
| DEF | 6 | German Pezzella | Real Betis (SPA) | 31 | 32 |
| DEF | 13 | Cristian Romero | Tottenham (ENG) | 24 | 12 |
| DEF | 3 | Nicolas Tagliafico | Lyon (FRA) | 30 | 42 |
| MID | 7 | Rodrigo De Paul | Atletico Madrid (SPA) | 28 | 44 |
| MID | 24 | Enzo Fernandez | Benfica (POR) | 21 | 3 |
| MID | 17 | Alejandro ‘Papu’ Gomez | Sevilla (SPA) | 34 | 15 |
| MID | 20 | Alexis Mac Allister | Brighton (ENG) | 23 | 8 |
| MID | 14 | Exequiel Palacios | Bayer Leverkusen (GER) | 24 | 20 |
| MID | 5 | Leandro Paredes | Juventus (ITA) | 28 | 46 |
| MID | 18 | Guido Rodriguez | Real Betis (SPA) | 28 | 26 |
| FWD | 9 | Julian Alvarez | Man City (ENG) | 22 | 12 |
| FWD | 16 | Thiago Almada | Atlanta United (USA) | 21 | 1 |
| FWD | 11 | Angel Di Maria | Juventus (ITA) | 34 | 124 |
| FWD | 21 | Paulo Dybala | AS Roma (ITA) | 28 | 34 |
| FWD | 15 | Angel Correa | Atletico Madrid | 25 | 22 |
| FWD | 22 | Lautaro Martinez | Inter Milan (ITA) | 25 | 40 |
| FWD | 10 | Lionel Messi | PSG (FRA) | 35 | 165 |
| Position | No. | Player | Club | Age | Caps |
| GK | 23 | Alphonse Areola | West Ham (ENG) | 29 | 5 |
| GK | 1 | Hugo Lloris | Tottenham (ENG) | 35 | 139 |
| GK | 16 | Steve Mandanda | Rennes (FRA) | 37 | 34 |
| DEF | 3 | Axel Disasi | Monaco (FRA) | 24 | 0 |
| DEF | 21 | Lucas Hernandez | Bayern Munich (FRA) | 26 | 32 |
| DEF | 22 | Theo Hernandez | AC Milan (ITA) | 25 | 7 |
| DEF | 24 | Ibrahima Konate | Liverpool (ENG) | 23 | 2 |
| DEF | 5 | Jules Kounde | Barcelona (SPA) | 23 | 12 |
| DEF | 2 | Benjamin Pavard | Bayern Munich (GER) | 26 | 46 |
| DEF | 17 | William Saliba | Arsenal (ENG) | 21 | 7 |
| DEF | 18 | Dayot Upamecano | Bayern Munich (GER) | 23 | 7 |
| DEF | 4 | Raphael Varane | Manchester United (ENG) | 29 | 87 |
| DEF | 13 | Youssouf Fofana | Monaco (FRA) | 23 | 2 |
| MID | 25 | Eduardo Camavinga | Real Madrid (SPA) | 19 | 4 |
| MID | 6 | Matteo Guendouzi | Marseille (FRA) | 23 | 6 |
| MID | 14 | Adrien Rabiot | Juventus (ITA) | 27 | 29 |
| MID | 8 | Aurelien Tchouameni | Real Madrid (SPA) | 22 | 14 |
| MID | 15 | Jordan Veretout | Marseille (FRA) | 29 | 5 |
| FWD | 11 | Ousmane Dembele | Barcelona (FRA) | 25 | 28 |
| FWD | 20 | Kingsley Coman | Bayern Munich (GER) | 26 | 40 |
| FWD | 9 | Olivier Giroud | AC Milan (ITA) | 36 | 114 |
| FWD | 7 | Antoine Griezmann | Atletico Madrid (SPA) | 31 | 110 |
| FWD | 10 | Kylian Mbappe | PSG (FRA) | 23 | 59 |
| FWD | 26 | Marcus Thuram | Bor. M’Gladbach (GER) | 25 | 4 |
| FWD | 12 | Randal Kolo Muani | Eintracht Frankfurt (GER) | 23 | 2 |