World Cup: Excitement grows before Argentina-France, starry final
Argentina and France fans start to color the area around Lusail Stadium with their country's soccer kits
Excitement was growing on Sunday around the Lusail Stadium, terminus of the World Cup in Qatar, as the final approached between Argentina and its star Lionel Messi and France and its comet Kylian Mbappé, each straining toward the dream of a third star.
Well before kick-off, the plaza of the brand new enclosure with nearly 90,000 seats, symbol of the excess of the gas emirate, began to be colored with a multitude of white jerseys with sky blue stripes as supporters of the Argentinians were still desperately looking for a precious ticket.
The French, a minority in the stands, also have an appointment with history as Les Bleus look for a second straight World Cup title. With their brilliant dribbler Messi, Argentina can "end 36 years of frustration" in the World Cup, wrote Argentine daily newspaper La Nacion.
In front of the mass of fiery Argentine supporters, two ambitions will collide in Lusail for the final which will provide intoxication on one side, distress on the other, a great classic of sports storytelling. The World Cup guestbook features the faces of the winners, from Mario Kempes (1978) to Hugo Lloris (2018) via Diego Maradona (1986) and Zinédine Zidane (1998), historic figures of Albiceleste and Les Bleus. Who will appear on the next page?
Four years after Moscow, France can win a second title in a row, an unprecedented performance since the Brazil of Pelé, Vava and Garrincha in 1962. Its hopes rest partly on Mbappé, soon to be 24, who made the World his "obsession." The temperature will gradually rise between now and the kick-off of an unprecedented final in the history of the competition.