DOHA (Reuters) – Argentina play France in the World Cup final on Sunday.
When: Sunday, Dec. 18, 1800 local (1500 GMT/1000ET)
Where: Lusail Stadium, Doha
Capacity: 88,966
Odds (after 90 minutes)
Argentina win: 9/5
France win: 17/10
Draw: 2/1
Key stats:
* Argentina are playing in their sixth World Cup final, having won in 1978 and 1986, and being runners-up in 1930, 1990 and 2014.
* Argentina have lost only one of their last 42 international matches (W29 D12). They have scored 12 goals at Qatar 2022 — their highest total since 1986 when they scored 14.
* Argentina captain Lionel Messi will be playing in his second World Cup final after his team lost to Germany in 2014. The World Cup trophy is the only major title missing from his collection.
* France are playing in their fourth World Cup final, having won in 1998 and 2018, and finished runners-up in 2006.
* France have become the first back-to-back finalists since Brazil in 2002, and will be looking to become only the third nation to have won two consecutive World Cups, alongside Italy (1934 and 1938) and Brazil (1958 and 1962).
* Kylian Mbappe has scored five times in six games, surpassing his tally from the 2018 tournament. The 23-year-old has scored nine World Cup goals in 13 appearances.
Previous meetings:
* Argentina and France have played each other three times in the World Cup, last meeting in Russia in 2018 when France won 4-3 in the round of 16. Argentina won the first two meetings in 1930 and 1978.
(Compiled by Manasi Pathak and Aadi Nair in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)
