[Prologue]
The pinnacle of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar saw South American powerhouses Argentina and European giants France engage in a world-class battle. Both teams progressed through the group stage with five wins and one loss, with their only defeats coming in the group stage. It's worth noting that Argentina suffered a surprise defeat against Saudi Arabia in their first match, but then won their second match in a row to advance to the round of sixteen, while France started with two consecutive victories before losing to Tunisia in their third match due to a massive rotation of their lineup. In the knockout rounds, Argentina narrowly beat the Netherlands on penalties in the last eight, while the remaining two matches were relatively easy; France managed to beat their opponents within 90 minutes in all three knockout round matches, with the most grueling battle also coming in the last eight, where they narrowly beat England, and then the last two rounds of sixteen and the semi-finals were easy to get through.
In the list of World Cup winners, Argentina and France are both two-time winners, behind Brazil (five), Germany (four) and Italy (four). Argentina have reached the final five times, winning in 1978 and 1986, and most recently in Brazil in 2014, but ultimately missed out on the title against Germany. France, on the other hand, have reached the final three times, winning twice in 1998 and 2018. In the historical meetings between Argentina and France, Argentina has a slight advantage with six wins, three draws and three losses, but the most recent meeting between the two teams was four years ago at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, when France beat Argentina 4-3 in the round of sixteen, with Mbappe scoring twice to help France advance to the last eight, and the Gallic Roosters eventually went all the way to the final to win the title.
[Argentina]
Argentina entered the World Cup with an undefeated record of 36 international matches, but lost to Saudi Arabia in the first match of the group stage, but then quickly adjusted their form and won consecutive matches. Head Coach Scaloni's clinical command is a great credit, he is good at adjusting the formation according to the characteristics of the opponent, from 4-3-1-2 to 5-3-2, and then to 4-4-2, Scaloni showed a flexible and versatile tactical thinking. In the match, Scaloni dared to use Enzo Fernandes and Alvarez, proving his philosophy of employing talents without any restrictions. In addition, Scaloni's tactical adjustments have also paid off many times, such as against Australia, facing the opponent's massive pressure, he decisively replaced Risandro Martinez to change the five defenders, successfully defending the victory, showing Scaloni's excellent command of the field.
"The 35-year-old Messi has performed well in this year's World Cup, with five goals and Mbappe tied for the top spot on the scorer's list, and three assists and Bruno Fernandes, Kane and Griezmann tied for the top spot on the assist list, making him a strong contender for the World Cup Ballon d'Or. The strong contender for this year's World Cup Ballon d'Or. The reason why Messi is able to play so well, in addition to his technical and mental still at the peak of the state, behind the scenes is the "German bodyguard" De Paul. Considering Messi's age, he needs to focus more on offensive planning, so the task of the defensive end needs to be shared by teammates. De Paul, Enzo Fernandez, McAllister and Alvarez are to a certain extent shared Messi in the defense of the lack of running, "I run a step more, Messi can be more energy in the offensive end". Especially De Paul, he is often in the high level of pressing Messi press opponents back line, in defense and back in front of their own back line to protect the key areas. In the offensive end, De Paul is not as high as Enzo Fernández with the ball skills and passing talent, but he provides the "no ball running" is the most important. Messi has made 18 key passes in this World Cup, second only to Griezmann's 21, which is a testament to De Paul's ability to create space and open up defenses.
