PSG Teammates Lionel Messi And Kylian Mbappe To Co-Star In World Cup Final As Rivals

The 2022 FIFA World Cup final between France and Argentina will see the tournament's two biggest stars, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi, go head to head.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup final will see the tournament's two biggest stars go head to head.

Argentina captain Lionel Messi and French sensation Kylian Mbappe have been the two standout performers in Qatar over the past 24 days.

Messi has scored five and assisted three of Argentina's 12 goals at this World Cup.

Mbappe has also netted five times and will rival Messi for the Golden Boot.

The two men have been club teammates at Paris Saint-Germain since August 2021 and there is known to be a lot of mutual respect between them.

Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe are club teammates but they will be international rivals on Sunday :: IMAGO/Sebastian Frej

Messi said of Mbappe earlier this year in an interview with TUDN: "Kylian is a different player. He's a beast.

"He's very strong one-on-one, he finds space and he's very quick. He can score a lot of goals, he's a very complete player and he's been showing that for years.

"In the next few years he'll be among the very best, no doubt about it."

Mbappe may be able to claim that he is among the very best in just a few days, rather than years.

To date, only 21 players have won the men's World Cup more than once.

2 - A comparison between Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé across the last two editions of the #FIFAWorldCup (2018 & 2022). Showdown. pic.twitter.com/sIANUBIlUy

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 14, 2022

Mbappe, who scored four goals in France's victorious campaign at Russia 2018, is potentially on the verge of winning his second World Cup two days before his 24th birthday.

With time very much on his side, Mbappe could plausibly go on to break Pele's record of three World Cup titles in the years ahead.

Conversely, Sunday is Messi's last chance at achieving World Cup glory.

The 35-year-old has confirmed that he will not play at the 2026 tournament.

Will Messi's last dance be a victorious number? Or will Mbappe lead France to back-to-back titles and almost certainly seal his first Ballon d'Or award in the process?