Argentina and Croatia were vying for a spot in the final of the FIFA World Cup 2022. Lionel Messi and Luka Modric, the captains of the two teams, began their World Cup journeys in the same match in 2006, and 16 years later have proven themselves to be legends of the game. As their teams take on each other, two other World Cup heroes, France’s Lilian Thuram and Marcel Desailly, were seen in the stands. They had won the 1998 World Cup under the leadership of Zinedine Zidane.
Thuram himself played a crucial role in France’s win against Croatia in the 1998 semi-final, where he scored both goals to give Les Bleus a 2-1 win. Thuram’s heroics were repeated in the 2022 semifinal by youngster Julian Alvarez, who score twice in Argentina’s 3-0 win. His son, Marcus Thuram, is himself playing in the French team this tournament.
Lionel Messi has now equalled Lothar Matthaus as the two players with the most World Cup appearances. He will beat Matthaus after the final on Sunday. The Argentine genius is also tied with France’s talisman, Kylian Mbappe, as the join-highest scorers of the 2022 edition of the tournament.
Both Argentina and France have a chance of winning the third World Cup for their country. However, France have a challenge in the form of Morocco that they have to cross in order to create history in the tournament. Didier Deschamps, France’s head coach, has already joined Brazil’s Mario Zagallo and West Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer as the only three people to have won the FIFA World Cup as both coach and player.
The game was also graced by the likes of Brazilian legends like Ronaldinho, Roberto Carlos, and Cafu. Ronaldinho himself stood up and applauded after Julian Alvarez scored a sensational goal to give Argentina a 2-0 lead.
