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  • Key players in World Cup final between France and Argentina

    Key players in World Cup final between France and Argentina

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    DOHA, Qatar — Lionel Messi will line up for Argentina and Kylian Mbappé will be on the opposite side for France on Sunday in the World Cup final.

    Messi has been there before, but lost in the 2014 final to Germany. Mbappé won the 2018 title after scoring a goal against Croatia.

    However, neither will be able to win the gold trophy entirely on their own at Lusail Stadium.

    Here is a look at some of the key players on both teams, and their coaches:

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    LIONEL MESSI

    The 35-year-old Messi is the heart and soul of the Argentina team, the tournament’s co-leading scorer with five goals and tied for the most assists with three. Look for the Paris Saint-Germain forward to burst into creative life when he sees a chance to make something happen. A World Cup title would finally complete Messi’s elevation alongside Diego Maradona to icon status.

    JULIAN ALVAREZ

    Alvarez made it off the bench to replace Lautaro Martinez as the World Cup progressed and scored four goals in four starts with Argentina. The 22-year-old Machester City player is a powerful runner who created a perfect partnership with Messi in the 3-0 win over Croatia in the semifinals.

    EMILIANO MARTINEZ

    Martinez is an imposing 6-foot-4 goalkeeper with a personality to match his stature. “Dibu” would be favored if the final goes to a penalty shootout. The 30-year-old Aston Villa keeper made key saves in Argentina’s shootout win over the Netherlands in the quarterfinals and in last year’s Copa America semifinals.

    NAHUEL MOLINA

    Molina is an energetic fullback with the toughness expected of any Argentina defender. The 24-year-old Atletico Madrid defender also has attacking instincts. He received the no-look pass of the tournament from Messi to score against the Netherlands.

    ENZO FERNANDEZ

    Fernandez started the tournament as a substitute but was in the team to stay after scoring with his fast feet and a curling shot in Argentina’s victory over Mexico. The 21-year-old Benfica player anchors the center of midfield and will be trying to stop Antoine Griezmann’s forward forays.

    LIONEL SCALONI

    Scaloni was an assistant coach at the 2018 World Cup — when Argentina exited in the round of 16 against France – and is now an unheralded success in the top job. He brought a 35-game unbeaten run to Qatar that included ending a long wait for a Copa America last year. The 44-year-old Scaloni has succeeded in surrounding Messi with a midfield that lets him flourish.

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    KYLIAN MBAPPE

    Mbappé is France’s fastest, most dynamic scoring threat on the field. The 23-year-old Paris Saint-Germain forward is tied with Messi with a World Cup-leading five goals. A standout game against Argentina will place him among the all-time greats.

    ANTOINE GRIEZMANN

    The 31-year-old Griezmann has been a revelation for France at this year’s World Cup. Once a goal-scoring winger, the Atletico Madrid forward has added relentless defensive protection to his creative craft. A duel could develop with Messi between the lines of Argentina’s attack.

    HUGO LLORIS

    The 35-year-old Tottenham goalkeeper is poised to become the first-ever captain of two World Cup-winning teams. A quiet-spoken leader by example, he now holds France’s all-time appearance record.

    RAPHAEL VARANE

    At his third World Cup, the 29-year-old Varane is a fixture in the center of a France defense that keeps changing because of injury and illness. The four-time Champions League winner at Real Madrid is back to near his elegant best after an injury scare in October.

    AURELIEN TCHOUAMENI

    Tchouaméni arrived on the world stage ahead of schedule in the midfield role Paul Pogba had for France four years ago. He matched Pogba’s shooting power with his goal against England. Learning at Real Madrid this season, after spurning Mbappé’s urging to go to PSG, should prepare the 22-year-old midfielder for facing Argentina.

    DIDIER DESCHAMPS

    In his 11th year as France coach, Deschamps can become only the second man to lead two World Cup-winning teams and the first since 1938. The 54-year-old Deschamps has integrated inexperienced players to replace injured veterans without losing any of his team’s typical calm assurance.

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    AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • World Cup Viewer’s Guide: Argentina, Messi look for rebound

    World Cup Viewer’s Guide: Argentina, Messi look for rebound

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    DOHA, Qatar — Lose and go home. That’s the harsh fact facing Argentina as the team heads into its crucial World Cup match against Mexico.

    Argentina arrived in Qatar as a favorite but suffered one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history with a 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia in its opening match. Now Argentina is in danger of elimination Saturday, when anything but a win or draw would mean an early Group C knockout for the Albiceleste.

    Argentina has only failed to advance out of the group stage twice in the last 60 years, in 1962 and 2002. And in what is likely Lionel Messi’s fifth and final appearance on soccer’s biggest stage, Argentina has become something of a laughingstock in Qatar.

    “Where is Messi? We broke his eye!” fans have been singing in Arabic, using a slang expression meaning to bring shame on a person.

    “We always said we were going to look to win every game,” said Messi, “and now more than ever.”

    The loss to Saudi Arabia was Argentina’s fourth defeat in its last six World Cup matches, and also ended its 36-match unbeaten streak that stretched for more than three years.

    Now goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez said Saturday’s match against Mexico must be approached as its “first World Cup final” if Argentina wants to continue playing in Qatar.

    “We’re hurting a lot from our first defeat and on top of that at the World Cup,” he said. “We expected to play like it was a final, but we didn’t do that. After we scored the first goal we relaxed a bit and we paid for that. Saturday will be our first World Cup final.”

    Argentina has beaten Mexico in its last 10 meetings dating to the 2004 Copa America, and it won all three of its previous World Cup matches against Mexico at the World Cup, in 1930, 2006 and 2010.

    Mexico, meanwhile, played to a 0-0 draw in its opening match against Poland. Mexico has failed to score in its last three World Cup matches — two losses and a draw — dating to group play in Russia in 2018.

    Guillermo Ochoa saved a Robert Lewandowski penalty kick in the match against Poland and the 37-year-old goalkeeper, playing in his fifth World Cup, has never made it past the round of 16. Mexico has been knocked out in that round in its last seven appearances and last reached the quarterfinals in 1986 when it hosted the World Cup.

    “Everything, I would trade everything to get to the quinto partido (fifth game),” he said.

    Mexico is coached by Gerardo Martino, who led his native Argentina from 2014 to 2016 until back-to-back losses in the Copa America final led him to quit.

    “I know where I was born, the name of the hospital, the year and the characteristics of my city in Argentina, but I have to do the impossible for Mexico to win, I can’t do anything else,” Martino said.

    Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni hadn’t lost a match before the opening game defeat by Saudi Arabia.

    “There is no other choice but to get up and move on,” Scaloni said. “They made us favorites, but in a World Cup these things can happen. You have to work on the aspects that didn’t go well.”

    POLAND-SAUDI ARABIA

    Saudi Arabia was an overwhelming underdog and pulled off the upset against Argentina, and will again be the underdog Saturday against Poland.

    Saudi Arabia has lost eight straight and nine of its last 10 World Cup matches against European teams. Included in that run was an 8-0 loss to Germany in 2002, a game forward Saleh Al Shehri said was too long ago to matter to this current squad.

    “That was a defeat in the past,” said Al Shehri. “I think we, as a country, want to get back and go up to the top as a team. And I guess in the 20 years, we worked a lot, we worked hard. Now, in 2022, in Qatar, we made history, and there’s still more to come.”

    For Poland, star Robert Lewandowski is struggling to find the net and hasn’t scored in his four previous World Cup matches on 11 shots and a failed penalty in a 0-0 draw against Mexico.

    In fact, Poland attempted only six shots against Mexico and has now had six goalless draws in 35 World Cup matches.

    “There’s room for improvement going forward, we have to risk more,” Lewandowski said. “It’s very hard for a forward to track so far back. But if the coach has these tactics, then we have to adjust. Of course, as a forward I wish for more of the ball.”

    FRANCE-DENMARK

    France overcame a slew of injuries — including the loss of striker and Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema with a thigh injury on the eve of the tournament — for an easy 4-1 defeat of Australia in its opening match.

    The defending World Cup champions next play Denmark on Saturday and a win would push France through to the round of 16.

    The victory over Australia made France the first reigning champion to win its opening World Cup match of a tournament since Brazil in 2006, but only four champions have won their opening two matches of a World Cup campaign.

    France is trying to become the first team since Spain in 2010 to win six consecutive World Cup matches. Denmark, meanwhile, has drawn its last three matches including against Tunisia in its opening game.

    TUNISIA-AUSTRALIA

    Tunisia and Australia meet for just the third time in history, with the last match a 2-0 Tunisia victory in the 2005 Confederations Cup.

    Tunisia has lost just one of its last 10 matches but opened the World Cup with a goalless draw against Denmark.

    Australia had won five straight before France routed the Socceroos 4-1 in their opening match.

    Australia coach Graham Arnold called France “bigger, stronger and faster,” but is confident his squad will be ready for Tunisia.

    “We’ve got to be ready for that war,” Arnold said. “They are aggressive and they’re going to have 40,000 fans behind them and it’s going to be a truly amazing experience again for everyone.”

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    AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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