By now the world is intimately familiar with the stakes of the men’s 2022 FIFA World Cup final between Argentina and France: a 35-year-old Lionel Messi is one game away from winning the trophy that has eluded him throughout his illustrious career.
Standing in Messi’s way from the trophy in the final World Cup match of his career is 23-year-old superstar and club teammate at PSG, Kylian Mbappe, who already has a World Cup trophy and is likely to take Messi’s mantle as the sport’s global superstar in the years to come.
One of France or Argentina will be walking out of Qatar’s Lusail Stadium having earned a third star on their badge representative of three total World Cup victories. Argentina last won this trophy in 1986 with legend Diego Maradona leading the way. They’ve since lost the final in 1990 and 2014.
A French victory would be historic because it would mean back-to-back victories after their triumph in the last edition in 2018. A repeat men’s World Cup champion hasn’t happened since 1962.
Sporting News is tracking live scoring updates and highlights from Argentina vs. France at the 2022 World Cup. Follow below for complete results from World Cup Final in Qatar.
MORE: Best bets for the 2022 FIFA World Cup final
Argentina vs France live score
| 1st Half | 2nd Half | Final | |
| Argentina | — | — | — |
| France | — | — | — |
Goals:
None
Projected lineups:
Argentina (5-3-2, right to left): 23. E. Martinez (GK) — 26. Molina, 13. Romero, 19. Otamendi, 25. Li. Martinez, 8. Acuna — 7. De Paul, 24. E. Fernandez, 20. Mac Allister — 9. Alvarez, 10. Messi
France (4-3-3, right to left): 1. Lloris (GK) — 5. Kounde, 4. Varane, 18. Upamecano, 22. T. Hernandez — 7. Griezmann, 8. Tchouameni, 14. Rabiot — 11. Dembele, 9. Giroud, 10. Mbappe
MORE: Watch every World Cup match live with fuboTV (U.S.-only free trial)
Argentina vs France live updates, highlights from 2022 World Cup
6hrs from kickoff: If France are to win today, you can almost guarantee that Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe will have to be at their best. Mbappe’s goals have fired Les Bleus this far but Griezmann is arguably the unsung hero of this French side.
21 – Antoine Griezmann 🇫🇷 has created 21 chances in the 2022 #FIFAWorldCup, more than any other player in the tournament, also registering the highest average, with 3.5 chances per game. Engine.#AskOpta#AskOptaJosé#Qatar2022 pic.twitter.com/xNYXL9rJ7n
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) December 16, 2022
6 hrs 30 mins from kickoff: With victory today France would become only the third team ever to defend the World Cup crown. You can read about the other two occasions in this article here.
7 hrs from kickoff: Can Argentina mimic Spain and win the World Cup after losing their first match?
Andres Iniesta’s historic goal and a first #FIFAWorldCup for 🇪🇸
👀 Like Argentina at #Qatar2022, Spain had lost their first game in 2010. pic.twitter.com/389b9HavaV
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 18, 2022
7 hrs 30 mins from kickoff: Lionel Messi or Kylian Mbappe – who will be the star of the final?
FINAL TIME 🏆 pic.twitter.com/aJl6k1suHz
— 433 (@433) December 18, 2022
8 hrs from kickoff: The last times Argentina and France won the World Cup…
🏆The last time Argentina & France won the FIFA World Cup;
🇦🇷 Argentina-1986
🇫🇷 France-2018#FIFAWorldCup|#ARG|#FRA pic.twitter.com/KdMIa5IUTA— FIFA World Cup Stats (@alimo_philip) December 18, 2022
8 hrs 30 mins from kickoff: This is what Argentina and France will be playing for in 8.5 hours time.
#NewProfilePic 🏆 pic.twitter.com/slze4S7kGh
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 18, 2022
9 hrs from kickoff: “I want to be world champion.” That is the song that was belted out by Argentine fans after their semi-final win against Croatia. Will their 36-year dream come true?
Muchachos
Ahora nos volvimo’ a ilusionar
Quiero ganar la tercera
Quiero ser campeón Mundial pic.twitter.com/iGniCxuhqS— FÚTBOL ARGENTINO 🇦🇷 (@TodaLaPrimeraA) December 5, 2022
9 hrs 30 mins from kickoff: The front cover of French sports daily L’Equipe sums up the stakes nicely.
Tomorrow’s L’Équipe: “For Eternity.” pic.twitter.com/Z8H5dMDdvm
— Get French Football News (@GFFN) December 17, 2022
10 hrs from kickoff: Here were the sights and sounds at the popular Obelisco in Buenos Aires on the night before the game. It will be bedlam at this same location if Argentina win it.
¡UNA LOCURA! Así se encuentra el Obelisco en la noche previa a la final de la Copa del Mundo. pic.twitter.com/I7oacMl6Jb
— TyC Sports (@TyCSports) December 18, 2022
Argentina vs France lineups, team news
The Argentina insiders say that the only doubt is whether it will be Lisandro Martinez in a five-man backline (5-3-2) or attacking winger Angel Di Maria getting the start wide right in a 4-4-2.
The former scenario would seem to make the most sense given how focused Argentina must be in stopping France’s two wide attackers (Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele). Two wingbacks and an extra center-back offers Argentina solid cover and also gives them wide attacking options in the absence of Di Maria.
Look for Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni to be targeting France’s left side where left-back Theo Hernandez operates. The Frenchman is best known for his attacking forays, making questionable defensive decisions when put under pressure.
Argentina (5-3-2, right to left): 23. E. Martinez (GK) — 26. Molina, 13. Romero, 19. Otamendi, 25. Li. Martinez, 8. Acuna — 7. De Paul, 24. E. Fernandez, 20. Mac Allister — 9. Alvarez, 10. Messi
The good news for France is that the players thought to be questionable for the final due to illness or injury all trained regularly on Saturday except for Kingsley Coman, who reportedly worked out separately from the group, still feeling the effects of the bug.
But Coman has not been a regular like midfielder Adrien Rabiot and defender Dayot Upamecano, who are back and likely to start after missing the semifinal against Morocco. If the virus manages to knock out central defender Raphael Varane, then Arsenal’s William Saliba could get the nod given Ibrahima Konate is also fighting through the same bug.
Another interesting takeaway, and it could always be a decoy, was that manager Didier Deschamps experimented with a reported XI that had Kylian Mbappe as the central striker instead of target man Olivier Giroud, with Marcus Thuram playing in Mbappe’s usual wide left spot. There’s chatter that Giroud is carrying a knock to his knee.
France (4-3-3, right to left): 1. Lloris (GK) — 5. Kounde, 4. Varane, 18. Upamecano, 22. T. Hernandez — 7. Griezmann, 8. Tchouameni, 14. Rabiot — 11. Dembele, 9. Giroud, 10. Mbappe
Argentina vs France live stream, TV channel
The Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup final will be played at the showpiece Lusail Stadium, as the curtain comes down on what has been a memorable tournament.
Here’s how you can watch all the action in some of the major global territories.
| Date | Time | TV Channel | Streaming | |
| USA | Sun, Dec. 18 | 10:00 ET | Fox, Telemundo, Universo |
fuboTV, Fox Sports site/app, Telemundo Deportes site/app, Peacock, Universo Now |
| Canada | Sun, Dec. 18 | 10:00 ET | TSN 1, CTV, RDS (French), Noovo (French) | TSN site/app, CTV website, RDS app |
| UK | Sun, Dec. 18 | 15:00 GMT | BBC One, ITV 1, STV | BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website, ITVX, STV Player |
| Australia | Mon, Dec. 19 | 02:00 AEDT | SBS | SBS On Demand |
| India | Sun, Dec. 18 | 20:30 IST | Sports 18, MTV HD (Hindi) | JioTV |
| Hong Kong | Sun, Dec. 18 | 23:00 HKT | Now TV (Ch. 616, 618), ViuTV (Ch.99) | Now TV |
| Malaysia | Sun, Dec. 18 | 23:00 MYT | RTM TV2, Astro FIFA World Cup 1 | Astro GO, RTMKlik |
| Singapore | Sun, Dec. 18 | 23:00 SGT | Channel 5, StarHub TV FIFA World Cup, Singtel FIFA World Cup 141 | Singtel TV GO, CAST, StarHub TV+, MeWatch |
| New Zealand | Mon, Dec. 19 | 04:00 NZDT | Sky Sport 7 beIN Sports | Sky Go, Sky Sport NOW |