Argentina v France: where the World Cup final could be won and lost

16-Dec-2022 17:00:00 | The Guardian

Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé loom large but other tactical elements, including the role of Rodrigo De Paul, may be crucial

For better or for worse, this was always going to be the tournament of Lionel Messi. If he fails to win the World Cup, the shadow lies across his career, a sense of destiny unfulfilled. If he wins, it is a glorious culmination. So far, no side have really been able to stop him and there’s a sense that, paradoxically, it is harder to know how to combat him now as he does less in games. For long spells he is not involved; it would seem absurd to man-mark him as Louis van Gaal had Nigel de Jong do in the 2014 World Cup semi-final; that would be to lose a player for the sake of three or four minutes in the game.