AS the World Cup ends today, December 18, 2022, the world awaits a breathtaking final battle between the last winner France and the 2014 runner-up Argentina.
Both countries have won the World Cup twice, and today’s final will earn one of them a better record than the other.
France beat Morocco to reach the final, while Argentina defeated Croatia.
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Argentina have won the World Cup twice, in 1978 and 1986
France, on the other hand, won the World Cup on home soil in 1998, and in Russia in 2018.
France, who won the last world cup (2018), will be aiming to retain the cup.
The French are trying to win the World Cup back to back after Brazil did so in 1962.
The Argentines will be trying to avoid a third defeat in the final. They lost to West Germany in the final of the 1990 World Cup in Italy, and again to Germany in the final match of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
The two key players to look out for amid other talented players from both countries are Kylian Mbappe of France and Lionel Messi of Argentina.
The Qatar 2022 World Cup final match will take place at the magnificent Lusail Stadium.
Apart from the revered trophy, there is a chance to win the mouth-watering $42 million grand prize.
The host country, Qatar, picked December 18 for the final of the 2022 World Cup to mark their annual National Day.
This will add glamour to the closing ceremonies before the final match.
The closing ceremony, coming after 29 days of intense football matches, is to feature fireworks and musical performances. Nigerian musician, David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, is one of the artistes expected to perform at the event.
The President of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, has described the Qatar 2022 World cup as the best ever.
The $42 million cash prize for winning the Qatar 2022 World Cup trophy is higher than that of the 2018 World Cup, where the winner (France) got $38 million.
The runner-up of the 2022 World Cup will go home with $30 million, while Croatia, who defeated Morocco (The first African country to reach the Semi-Finals) on Saturday to claim third-place earned $27 million.
The teams that made it to the first group stage of the Qatar World Cup earned $9 million each.
In the same vein, the teams that made it through to the round of 16 earned $13 million each.
The 2022 World Cup tournament featured 32 teams from various countries across the world.
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance