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      Gary Neville names his best player of the World Cup – and it’s not Messi OR Mbappe

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      GARY NEVILLE has named his standout player of the World Cup – and it is not Lionel Messi or Kylian Mbappe.The two stars go head-to-head today as Argentina face France in the World Cup final.
      France’s Antoine Griezmann is hoping to fire France to World Cup gloryCredit: Reuters
      Gary Neville insists that Griezmann has been the standout performer at the tournamentCredit: Getty
      The pair are also battling it out to win the Golden Boot, with both joint-top of the scoring standings on five apiece.
      Whoever comes out on top will most-likely not only get their hands on the Golden Boot, but will be strong favourites to get the Golden Ball accolade too, an honour given to the player of the tournament.
      However, Manchester United legend and former England star Neville is adamant that another player has outshone both in Qatar.
      And it is Mbappe’s team-mate Antoine Griezmann, 31, who has impressed the ITV pundit the most.
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      Speaking about Atletico Madrid’s on-loan forward from Barcelona on the Football Daily, Neville said: “He’s been unbelievable and I think he has been the best player at the tournament in terms of overall player.
      “He’s done whatever his team has needed at every point in the game for them to win.
      “He played in the right channel against Morocco the other night and delivered success.
      “Then, in the second half when they were getting outrun and overplayed, he went back into a three in midfield.
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      “After that he then went and played deep in his own box winning tackles and headers and other things.
      “He’s been unbelievable Griezmann.”
      Neville added: “I didn’t realise how great he was until I played against him with Valencia against Atletico Madrid.
      “You see him in real-life and the sharpness, the intelligence of him, and the weight of the pass is a beautiful thing.”
      Griezmann has featured in all six matches for Les Bleus at the tournament but is yet to find the net.
      But that has not stopped his nation from dreaming about him firing them to a second-straight World Cup success. More

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      Argentina vs France – World Cup final 2022 LIVE: Stream FREE, score, TV channel – Messi and Di Maria running riot

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      ARGENTINA have doubled their lead against France as they dominate in the World Cup final.The South Americans have come firing out of the blocks in the final in Qatar, and their pressure has been rewarded with Lionel Messi’s calmly taken spot-kick.
      Angel Di Maria – who was recalled to the starting line-up – scored Argentina’s second before the end of the first half.
      France are aiming to become only the third team to retain the World Cup trophy, while Messi is bidding for the biggest prize in his final match for Argentina.

      Kick-off time: 3pm GMT
      Live stream: BBC iPlayer and ITV X
      TV channel: BBC One and ITV
      Argentina XI: Martinez; Molina, Romero, Otamendi, Tagliafico; Di Maria, De Paul, Fernandez, Mac Allister; Messi, Alvarez
      France XI: Lloris; Kounde, Varane, Upamecano, T Hernandez; Griezmann, Tchouameni, Rabiot; O.Dembele, Mbappe, Giroud

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      46 Argentina 2-0 France
      No changes from either side as we kick things off in the second half.
      But reminding you that France manager Deschamps made a shock double switch in the closing stages of the first half with Kolo Muani and Thuram replacing Giroud and Dembele
      Argentina 2-0 France
      Peep!
      Off we go again in Qatar!!!
      Messi vs France
      Argentina captain Lionel Messi has absolutely dominated against France in the first half.
      Messi scored from the penalty spot and then started a brilliant attack that ended with Angel Di Maria’s goal.
      But the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner did so much more than that.
      More below:

      Word from the ground
      Here’s what SunSport’s man on the field Martin Lipton makes of the first half from the Lusail Stadium:
      French fans have gone very quiet.
      Not a surprise, really. This wasn’t meant to happen.
      But Deschamps’ team have looked a pale imitation of their normal selves.
      They have to do something that looks a long way beyond them to get themselves back into this contest.
      That means Mbappe turning up. His performance so far has been little short of an embarrassment.
      The Argentine army is convinced they are 45 minutes away from glory. You can’t blame them for that.Martin LiptonSunSport
      Messi vs Mbappe
      This has been built as a dream match between Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe.
      But so far this has been the Messi show with the Argentina captain moving the ball everywhere.
      France superstar Mbappe, on the other hand, has been non-existent and only picked the ball down the left.
      More below:

      Argentina vs France stats
      Argentina dominated 59 per cent of possession against France in the first half.
      The Albiceleste registered a total of six shots, three of which were on target.
      France, on the other hand, were very disappointing and didn’t produce a single shot.
      More below:

      HT: Argentina 2-0 France
      Argentina are 2-0 up against France following a rather smooth first half for Lionel Scaloni’s men at the Lusail Stadium.
      The Albiceleste opened the scoring on 23 minutes when Lionel Messi beat Hugo Lloris from the penalty spot after Ousmane Dembele tripped Angel Di Maria from behind inside the area.
      The Argentine doubled their lead after 36 minutes with some brilliant passing football.
      Messi flicked it to Julian Alvarez on his right and the Manchester City ace found Alexis Mac Allister who passed to the incoming Di Maria on the left.
      The Juventus star found himself in front of Lloris and beat him with a clinical shot that hit the France captain’s bottom left corner
      Credit: Getty
      HT: Argentina 2-0 France
      Peep!
      That’s half-time in Qatar!!!
      45+7 Argentina 2-0 France
      Yellow card
      We have the first booking of the match and it goes to Fernandez for a late challenge on Kolo Muani
      45+5 Argentina 2-0 France
      France are obviously livelier and attackers, like Kolo Muani, look to be well up for it.
      But they will need to show a lot more in the second half – Mbappe has been non-existent.
      Such an easy first half for Argentina, perhaps their easiest in the entire tournament
      45+3 Argentina 2-0 France
      Messi is playing one of the best matches of his career, but Di Maria has also been on fire down the left.
      The Argentina captain keeps feeding some wonderful crosses to the Juventus star, who constantly makes them count.
      No wonder he finished that wonderful play with a clinical goal…
      Credit: Reuters
      Credit: EPA
      45 Argentina 2-0 France
      Seven minutes of stoppage time to go until half-time.
      France have already improved with Deschamps’ double switch – the world champs look livelier and quicker. But not by much…
      44 Argentina 2-0 France
      France manager Deschamps seems like he didn’t want to wait for half-time to send a message to his players that need to wake up.
      Plus, Les Bleus need pace – something that Thuram and Kolo Muani have.
      Finally, this allows Mbappe to play in the middle and spearhead the Tricolores’ attack
      43 Argentina 2-0 France
      Here’s what SunSport’s Martin Lipton makes of Di Maria’s brilliant goal:
      And that IS a great goal.
      Outstanding team play, magnificent one-touch passing, maturity by Mac Allister to pick the right option with Kounde steaming across and calm assurance in Di Maria’s finish.
      France look shellshocked and potentially broken.
      Plenty of teams have come from one down to win a World Cup.
      Only West Germany in 1954 have come from two behind.Martin LiptonSunSport
      40 Argentina 2-0 France
      Subsitution
      France manager Deschamps shakes things up just five minutes before half-time.
      Thuram and Kolo Muani come on for Giroud and Dembele respectively.
      Risky from the French boss…
      38 Argentina 2-0 France
      That goal comes down to Messi’s brilliance, the Argentina captain’s genius flick to Alvarez on his right was the difference maker.
      That allowed the Man City ace to find Mac Allister in front of him, then the Brighton star played a brilliant through ball to Di Maria who beat Lloris
      36 Argentina 2-0 France
      What a goal by Argentina, perfect team work from Scaloni’s men! Absolute masterpiece!
      Messi chips it to Alvarez on his right and the Man City ace finds Mac Allister who plays it to the incoming Di Maria on the left.
      The Juventus star then beats Lloris with a clinical shot that hits the bottom left corner

      36 Argentina 2-0 France
      Goal!
      Argentina double the lead with Di Maria!!!
      35 Argentina 1-0 France
      Here’s some more insight from SunSport’s Martin Lipton:
      The Argentina fans are in dreamland, even though it’s only a single goal.
      France simply have not got going, at all.
      They look leggy.Maybe that bug has taken more out of them than anyone knew?
      At some point, if France are to get back into this, Mbappe has got to come to the party. So far he seems to have forgotten his invitation.Martin LiptonSunSport
      33 Argentina 1-0 France
      Messi is basically unbeatable in the first half so far, the Argentina captain always finds space to move and pass to Di Maria as well as Mac Allister on the wings.
      Excellent link-up between the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner and the midfield duo of Fernandez as well as De Paul
      30 Argentina 1-0 France
      Argentina continue to dominate against a stricken France…
      The Albiceleste are obviously boosted by their home crowd-like support while the French are struggling to find their rhythm
      28 Argentina 1-0 France
      Messi has sparked wild celebrations on the pitch and stands, where his family is watching from.
      The Argentina captain has equalled Pele in World Cup goals as he just netted his 12th
      Credit: Reuters
      Credit: Getty
      Credit: Rex
      25 Argentina 1-0 France
      Here’s what SunSport’s man on the field Martin Lipton thought about Argentina’s penalty:
      What WAS he thinking?
      Tension and pressure make mincemeat of brains.
      This time it is Dembele’s wiring that was scrambled, with a needless and clear-cut trip on Di Maria.
      Penalty. Absolutely. 100 per cent.
      The decision was instant and Messi sent Lloris the wrong way.
      For the first time since the start of the game, Deschamps is out of his dug-out. Scaloni, who has been on the edge of his all match, retreats into his seat.Martin LiptonSunSport
      22 Argentina 1-0 France
      Messi is one step closer to finally winning his first ever World Cup.
      The Argentina captain takes the penalty kick and sends the ball to the bottom left corner while Lloris goes the other way!
      Wild celebrations from the Albiceleste players and bench as well as Messi’s family up in the booths

      22 Argentina 1-0 France
      Goal
      Argentina open the scoring with Messi!
      Load more entries… More

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      Fans all say the same thing about Roy Keane’s moustache and soul patch as he returns to ITV coverage for World Cup final

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      FANS are saying the same thing after Roy Keane appeared with a moustache and soul patch at the World Cup final.The football pundit appeared on ITV’s coverage of the match with the new look, and it caused a stir online among football fans.
      Roy Keane had a full beard earlier in the tournament tournamentCredit: Twitter @itvfootball
      But he changed to a moustache and soul patch for the World Cup finalCredit: Twitter / @itvfootball
      Keane was on the panel alongside Gary Neville and Ian Wright ahead of Argentina’s history-making final against France.
      But despite this, fans were putting their attention on Keane’s newly trimmed facial hair on social media.
      One tweeted: “Roy Keane going for the Captain Hook look here”.
      A second wrote: “I’m here for nothing more than Roy Keane’s 80’s pornstar tache.”
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      A third added: “Roy Keane looks great as a musketeer”.
      A fourth said: “F****** serious tache and soul patch combo on Roy Keane that. Renaissance man”.
      A fifth chimed in with: “Roy Keane rocking the Frank Zappa ‘tache and beard combo. I’m here for it”.
      A sixth wrote: “Roy Keane looks absolutely mental with this new facial trim, like an Evil Villain”.
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      Former Man Utd and Ireland legend Keane, 51, has been has been one of the stars the tournament.
      He became embroiled in a bitter row over DANCING with Brazil’s manager Tite.

      And he showed that he still possessed some of the magic that made him one of the greatest midfielders of his generation by scoring the winner in an ITV vs BBC pundits match.
      Keane’s celebration was a work of art too – racing off with his top off before leaping over a wheelie bin. More

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      Argentina forced to make late change to starting XI for World Cup final as Acuna is replaced by Tagliafico

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      ARGENTINA were forced into making a late change to their line-up for the World Cup Final.Marcos Acuna has come in at left-back for Nicolas Tagliafico in a switch shortly before kick-off.
      Tagliafico has been dropped from the starting line-upCredit: Getty
      Marcos Acuna has faced a late World Cup Final call up from the benchCredit: Getty
      Acuna had missed the semi-final against Croatia due to injury.
      The switch is not believed to be for tactical reasons and it is reported that Tagliafico has picked up a knock.
      The full-back had made five appearances in this World Cup but then missed out on the final.
      Acuna, 31, came in for the huge clash against the holders.
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      He was facing Ousmane Dembele on the flank while his full-back counterpart Nahuel Molina had the difficult task of containing Kylian Mbappe.
      Argentina reached the final despite an awkward start to life in Qatar.
      The South American side were humbled by Saudi Arabia in one of the biggest shocks of World Cup history in their opening game.
      But they have since back in fine fashion.
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      Wins over Mexico and Poland saw clear the group, before an awkward knockout win over Australia.
      They beat the Dutch on penalties after an ill-tempered and frenetic game before seeing off Croatia on penalties.
      A shock defeat against Tunisia aside, France have faced a far more straightforward path to the final but had to live on their wits to squeeze past England and Morocco. More

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      Piers Morgan gives his World Cup final prediction with one star scoring twice and Messi crying

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      PIERS MORGAN has made his prediction for the World Cup final and reckons it’ll end in TEARS for Lionel Messi.The legend is hoping to lead Argentina to glory in his final every game at football’s greatest show against France.
      Piers Morgan has predicted France to win the World Cup final
      Messi goes into the final in outstanding form after scoring five goals and laying on three assists in five games in Qatar.
      He’s particularly turned on the style in the knockout stages, producing incredible performances against Holland and Croatia.
      And now, the PSG star is just 90 minutes away from ending Argentina’s 38-year wait for World Cup glory.
      It would be a fairytale end for the magician, who’s currently leading the race for the Golden Boot along with Kylian Mbappe and is also in the running to be named MVP.
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      But standing in his way is the reigning world champions and club team-mate Mbappe.
      The French superstar hasn’t been at his best in recent rounds, failing to score in both the quarter-finals and the semis.
      But the 23-year-old has experience of winning the tournament and scored in the 2018 final against Croatia.
      And Talk TV presenter Morgan believes France will retain the trophy with Mbappe shining once again.
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      On Twitter he said: “PREDICTION: France will beat Argentina 3-1 to win the World Cup.
      “Mbappe will score twice, Griezmann will be MoM and Messi will cry.”
      This comes after Morgan has continuously claimed that Cristiano Ronaldo is the GOAT and “well clear” of Messi.
      Morgan sat down with the ex-United star for an explosive interview last month and defended him after he was reduced to tears himself following Portugal’s quarter-final exit. More

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      Gary Lineker ‘spots Diego Maradona’ in the clouds ahead of World Cup final but fans aren’t convinced

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      GARY LINEKER has claimed he saw Diego Maradona in the clouds – but fans aren’t convinced by his claims. The BBC presenter posted a picture of the sky on his Twitter account ahead of the World Cup Final.
      Ahead of the World Cup Final, Lineker was convinced he had seen a football legend in the cloudsCredit: Getty
      Diego Maradona famously led Argentina to the World Cup in 1986Credit: Twitter @GaryLineker
      Lineker will be fronting coverage of Argentina v France for the Beeb later and revealed a omen he spotted in the clouds above him before the game.
      The former Leicester striker took to Twitter to share a picture of an oddly-shaped cloud in the Qatar sky.
      He asked followers: “Who’s that running up above shrouded in Argentinian colours? Is Diego looking down?”
      Maradona was the man largely responsible for Argentina’s last World Cup win in 1986.
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      After a career of success and occasional controversy, he passed away in 2020 at the age of 60.
      Fans were not as convinced as Lineker by Maradona’s sudden appearance and poked fun at the TV star.
      One cheeky tweeter photoshopped the cloud over a picture of the Argentinian superstar scoring his famous “goal of the century” against England.
      Another person said: “If you turn it upside down it’s [Peter] Shilton punching for a ball he just can’t reach.”
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      Maradona is widely recognised as one of the best players of all timeCredit: AFP

      They accompanied their tweet with a photoshopped image of the Maradona cloud flipped upside down.
      Another fan wrote: “What you smoking on? Pass that…”
      The official Specsavers account simply wrote “?” while multiple fans said “it’s a cloud, Gary.”
      Argentina are looking to rip the World Cup from France’s hands in today’s final at the Lusail Iconic Stadium.
      The game sees arguably the two best players in the world go head-to-head as Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe bid to lead their countries to victory.
      The pair are meeting four and a half years on from their epic 4-3 quarter-final clash in 2018. More

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      Rapper Drake bets $1MILLION on Argentina – so will infamous curse break Lionel Messi’s World Cup dream?

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      RAPPER Drake has bet ONE MILLION DOLLARS on Argentina to win the World Cup final against France.The Canadian rapper is backing Lionel Messi to finally win the one tournament that has alluded him in his glittering career.
      Drake has bet on Argentina to win the World Cup against FranceCredit: @champagnepapi
      Fans are now worried that the ‘Drake curse’ will strike againCredit: Getty
      Drake posted a picture of his betslip on Instagram showing the seven-figure amount being put on stake.
      If he wins he is set to more than double his money and collect a cool $2.75million.
      However, fans are now worried that the “Drake curse” will strike again after his announcement.
      The rapper has a habit of backing teams to win only for them to go on and lose.
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      One fan commented: “Yoo Drake please cancel your bet… you are going to ruin a historical day for no reason…”
      A second said: “Drake bet on Argentina … I’m gonna put money on France to try and cancel the Jinx out”.
      A third added: “So Drake also made a bet on the Golden State Warriors to win the NBA championship, and they won.
      “It’s not over yet boys, Messi’s gonna break his curse”.
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      A fourth wrote: “Drake bet that Argentina would win, it’s over”.
      Drake previously backed boxer Anthony Joshua to beat Andy Ruiz Jr only for the brit to be beaten.
      He also was pictured with Manchester United star Jadon Sancho while he was at Borussia Dortmund.
      Sancho and his team then lost to rivals Bayern Munich.
      Other sports stars such as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Conor McGregor as Ligue 1 side PSG have fallen victims to the Drake curse. More

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      Lionel Messi’s son writes message to dad ahead of World Cup final – and quotes whole of Argentina’s anti-England song

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      LIONEL MESSI has received a message of encouragement from his 10-year-old son ahead of today’s World Cup final.The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner will take to the pitch for his final World Cup match this evening with hopes of lifting the iconic Jules Rimet trophy.
      Messi will make his final World Cup appearance this eveningCredit: Getty
      His 10-year-old son wrote him a letter before the gameCredit: https://www.instagram.com/antonelaroccuzzo/
      Messi’s wife Antonela their children are supporting from the standsCredit: Reuters
      His family will support him and Argentina from the stands of the Lusail Stadium throughout the historic match, but 10-year-old Thiago wanted to make sure that his dad received one final message of encouragement before stepping out onto the pitch.
      In a letter shared on social media by Messi’s wife, Antonela Roccuzzo, the youngster quotes ‘Muchachos’, the Argentinian song of which the PSG star and his national teammates sung after they defeated Croatia on Tuesday.
      The letter, written in Spanish, reads: “I was born in Argentina, land of Diego [Maradona] and Lionel.
      “Boys, now we are excited again, I want to win the third, I want to be world champion, and we can see Diego from heaven, with Don Diego and La Tota, rooting for Lionel.”
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      The song – which includes the lyrics: “Ingleses putos de Malvinas no me olvido”, which roughly translates to “f***ing English in the Falklands, I don’t forget.” – became the most played song in Argentina earlier this week following the semi-final win.
      The Sky Blue and Whites celebrated the victory by chanting the anti-English song in the dressing room.
      Lisandro Martinez and Julian Alvarez, who play their football in England at Manchester United and City respectively, could be seen joining in.
      The duo’s involvement angered many fans of both United and City as a result.
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      Argentina will take on reigning champions France in today’s World Cup final.
      Messi is set to battle PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe for the golden boot, with both players currently on five goals.
      Antonela has been pictured wearing an Argentina shirt with ‘Messi 10’ on the backCredit: EPA More