‘God of football’ Lionel Messi (35, Argentina) and ‘next soccer emperor’ Kylian Mbafe (23, France) will face off against fate. Among them, there is only one main character who can lift the World Cup trophy.

Argentina (3rd in FIFA rankings) and France (4th in FIFA rankings), where Messi and Mbappe belong, will play the 2022 FIFA Qatar World Cup final at 0:00 (Korean time) on the 19th at Lusail Stadium in Qatar. Argentina is the final stage for the first time in eight years since the 2014 Brazil tournament, and France has reached the final of two consecutive tournaments.

It is a confrontation that draws a lot of attention in many ways. Messi’s Argentina finished runners-up after losing 0-1 to Germany in the 2014 Brazil final. However, after winning the 2021 Copa America, which was the major tournament just before, the Qatar World Cup also advanced to the final and was ready to lift the championship trophy for the second year in a row.

Mbappe’s France entered the tournament as a defending champion, showing off its overwhelming and stable power and showing the dignity of the ‘those who wear the crown’. Mbafe, who showed a remarkable appearance as a ‘young player’ in the last competition, but was an assistant to the key players in general, is showing the whole world why he is the lumber of the ‘next football emperor’ in this competition.

Messi’s performance in the ‘Last Dance’ is also dazzling. Messi, who announced before the tournament that ‘Qatar will be his last World Cup’, is showing his most outstanding performance in international competitions as if he were spending his last days without regret.

Messi, who started in all games from the first game of the group stage to the semifinals, is tied for the lead in both scoring and assists with 5 goals and 3 assists. His World Cup participation record is also about to be broken. While it is tied with Lotaire Matheus (Germany, 1982-1998) with 25 appearances for the most appearances, if he goes to the finals, he will have the record for 토토 most single appearances (26 games).

At the same time, Mbappey is also the main character who can aim for this record, which is not easy to break. If Mbappe, who is tied for the top scorer with 5 points with Messi, leads France to win the Qatar championship, it will create a new history following Brazil’s ‘soccer emperor’ Pele (82), who led the team twice in a row in 1962. In modern times, it has become so difficult for a country to lift the championship trophy of two World Cups in a row, but Mbappe’s ‘crazy run’ is making France’s history possible.

Despite the young age of 23, Mbappe has already won 5 professional career competitions, scored 8 competitions, and has the World Cup trophy. Now, this World Cup final is the best opportunity for Mbappe to announce the end of the era of ‘Messi VS Ronaldo’ and to firmly establish itself as an icon of the new era.

On the other hand, Messi is called the greatest of all time beyond the best of his time, GOAT (Greatest of all time) and ‘god of football’. He has won the Ballon d’Or 7 times, the most ever, which only the best players in the world can have, and won 11 league championships (10 Spanish Primera Liga, 1 French Ligue 1), 4 UEFA Champions League championships, He won the Copa America (2021) and more.

It would be too harsh for Messi, a player like this, to end his career without a single World Cup trophy. That’s why this World Cup is more desperate for Messi.

The Qatar World Cup, which once again made us laugh and cry as a soccer festival, now has only one game left. Who will be the last to laugh at the greatest soccer festival in the world?