Highlights | FIFA World Cup final Argentina vs France, Argentina wins, Messi lifts the TROPHY!

After massive win against France, Argentina star Lionel Messi says he is not retiring.

A whopping $440 million has been set aside for distribution among the 32 competing teams at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Winner Argentina and runners-up France will receive the highest payouts, totaling $72 million in winnings. The grand finale of the FIFA World Cup 2022 was won by Argentina on Sunday, and they will be getting a cash prize worth $42 million. On the other hand, prize money of $30 million is set aside for the runner-up team France.

Argentina beat France 4-2 on penalties after the match ended 3-3 at the end of two-quarters of extra time at the Lusail International Stadium in front of a majority Argentine crowd that never once let its voice down.

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The burden of expectation must have been enormous, but Argentina wins this incredible, dramatic final with another fine penalty.

Messi comes to the rescue! The most precious goal of the tournament! 

Much better posture of France. Look at how fired up they are. They now have pressure and energy all over the pitch. They appear to be the most likely to finalise this in extra time.

This World Cup final goes into extra time after a chaotic final 20 minutes. The 90-minute period concludes with France repelling a final Argentina attack. Don't worry, there's still at least 30 minutes of this gripping, thrilling, stunning, jaw-dropping finale left.

Kylian Mbappe wants to win everything on his own! He charges forward and fires a shot that deflects and goes over.

All it took were 97 seconds for Mbappe to demolish Argentina's 2-0 lead. What a stunning comeback from France.

So far in the second half, it has been a similar story. Argentina continues to have the majority of possession and appears to be the more dangerous side. With 30 minutes of normal time remaining, France is running out of time to turn this final around.

Lionel Messi is the first player in World Cup history to score in all five stages of the tournament in a single edition: group stage, round of 16, quarter-final, semi-final, and final.

France is making two substitutions before the break. Ousmane Demebele and Olivier Giroud are sent off the ground. Marcus Thuram and Randal Kolo Muani have joined the fray

A magnificent one from Di Maria! Argentina has destroyed France now!! Argentina is in charge of the show. Hugo Lloris of France has conceded twice and faced three shots on target.

Dembele is experiencing a nightmare. His first touch in this game went out of play, he gave away the penalty, and he continues to lose the ball.

Dembele's foolish move. Look at Messi's concentration; the coolest man on the ground. Argentina has been the superior team and deserves to be in first place.

Argentina has made an excellent start. It only seems a matter of time before they break the deadlock here. France simply appears sluggish in this game. The touch isn't quite there yet, and they'll no doubt work their way into this game, but it's been a slow start for them.

France has not shown the best performance so far! Argentina has been the dominating side in the first 10 minutes! Kudos to the Messi's team! CALM DOWN France!

Argentina has made a late substitution, with Marcos Acuna being replaced by Nicolas Tagliafico for the World Cup final against France. Acuna, who was suspended for the semi-final victory over Croatia, was expected to be part of Lionel Scaloni's squad for the crucial match. However, the 44-year-old has had to make a late substitution, with Tagliafico coming in.

Argentina XI (4-3-3): Martinez; Molina, Romero, Otamendi, Nicolas Tagliafico; De Paul, Fernández, Mac Allister; Di María, Messi, Álvarez
France XI (4-3-3): Lloris; Koundé, Varane, Upamecano, Hernandez; Griezmann, Tchouaméni, Rabiot; Dembélé, Giroud, Mbappé

The World is ready for the final clash of the Qatar FIFA World Cup between France and Argentina on Sunday. The match starts at 8:30 PM IST and will be played at the Lusail stadium. On this special occasion, the BeIN sports channel of the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA) has announced to Livestream the grand finale on YouTube also. This will be the first time that a FIFA match will be telecasted live on YouTube. Mohammad Al-Subaie, CEO of beIN MENA said: “The final of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 this Sunday will be a historic occasion for football, for the Arab World, and for beIN. For this reason, we are determined to make sure it is available to as many people who want to watch it as possible. We started this tournament promising to provide an unrivalled viewing experience to football fans across the region and, with billions of people having tuned in so far, we can safely say we have succeeded in doing that”.

Argentina welcomes back Di Maria. Tagliafico replaces Acuna in the starting lineup after a strong performance against Croatia. It's a similar lineup to the one he used against Poland, who used a midblock similar to France's. Di Maria and Alvarez are likely to stay wide, with Messi drifting down the middle.
Deschamps' predictable XI: Rabiot and Upamecano have recovered from illness, and Giroud and Varane's reported fitness concerns have been dispelled. The key matchup will be between Enzo Fernandez and Antoine Griezmann, with the former tasked with dealing with France's 'shadow forward' whenever they break.

The stage is set for the final showdown of the FIFA World Cup 2022 at the Lusail Stadium of Qatar. The match will be played between Argentina and France, after the closing ceremony of the world’s largest sports tournament is over.  The match will be played at 8:30 PM IST, while the closing ceremony will begin at 7:00 PM IST. The ceremony will be 15 minutes long and is themed “A night to remember.” Bollywood star Nora Fatehi is expected to perform at the event. “The final ceremony will last 15 minutes and reference the world coming together for the 29 days of the tournament through poetry and music,” FIFA said in a statement.

FIFA World Cup: Digital viewers surpass TV for the first time, with JioCinema reaching 100 million viewers. The FIFA World Cup 2022, which is being broadcast live for free on JioCinema, a Viacom 18 app, has become the most engaged and viewed FIFA World Cup in India's history.

Italy was always on one side of a penalty shoot-out in the World Cup: they lost one against Brazil in 2006 and won one against France in 1994.

Bollywood actress Nora Fatehi will perform at the FIFA closing ceremony. Previously, she has also performed in FIFA World’s Cup opening ceremony as well as the FIFA Fan festival. During her previous performances, Nora had successfully stolen the show with her breath-taking dance steps on Bollywood music, including ‘O Saki Saki’ and FIFA’s official song “Light the Sky’.
Click here to read more about the FIFA World Cup closing ceremony. 

Lionel Messi and Argentina fever has gripped the entire world ahead of Sunday's FIFA World Cup 2022 final against France. While large placards, flexes, and cutouts are the norm, some diehard fans in West Bengal have gone a step further by performing special yagnas for their favourite teams and stars.

Lionel Messi has skillfully played his role as Argentina's captain ahead of the 2022 World Cup. The South American champions have rallied around their talisman and have proven to be a particularly difficult foe to overcome. Argentina, led by Messi, are expected to win a narrow victory over France in this weekend's highly anticipated World Cup final.

Prediction: Argentina to win the match against France 2-1.

Both Argentina and France will look forward to lifting the World Cup trophy for the third time in World Cup history. France is still the favourite to win this year's FIFA World Cup, and they've made the most of their stellar squad throughout the competition. Les Bleus were fairly comfortable in their 2-0 semifinal victory over Morocco and will be looking for a similar result in the final. Argentina, on the other hand, has been on an inspired run at the World Cup, led by Lionel Messi. The Albiceleste are on the verge of ending their 36-year World Cup drought and will rely on their talisman once more this weekend.

For the fans based out in India, they can watch FIFA World Cup 2022 final live streaming apps, Argentina vs France live on TV on Sports 18 and Sports 18 HD channels, while those who wish to stream online can enjoy watching the clash on JioCinema app.

Both Argentina and France have met 13 times in the past across all competitions; at the FIFA World Cups, this will be their fourth meeting. While Argentina lost their last encounter against France in 2018, they were victorious over Les Bleus on the first two occasions.