Author: Aaron O'Grady

Argentina and France have outperformed all the competition. They have overcome the hurdles that stopped the other pre-tournament favourites in their tracks. One will fall at the final hurdle and one nation will win football’s ultimate crown. Legacies can be cemented and new ones can be made. The World Cup Final is a game like no other.

France

Expected Line-up: Lloris – Koundé Varane Konate Hernandez – Tchouameni Rabiot Griezmann – Dembélé Giroud Mbappé

France’s camp has been struck by a virus which ruled out Dayot Upamecano, RB Liepzig’s central defender, for the semi-final against Morocco. In his absence Konate and Varane looked good, and I would expect Deschamps to keep this partnership in the final should he be able to, with the pair being amongst those affected by the virus in the build up to the final.

The varying qualities of the French attack means their goalscoring threat is hard to nullify. Mbappe offers a potent threat cutting in from the left hand side with excellent pace, dribbling and finishing ability. He is overlapped by Theo Hernandez who also has incredible pace and physicality, as well as a reliable final ball into the box. Giroud is the recipient for many of these crosses, continuing his consistent scoring for France which has seen him become their all-time top scorer. Third on that list is France’s now industrious number 10 Antoine Griezmann, who has added defensive capabilities to his broad range of attacking weaponry in his new role for Deschamp’s France. On the right flank, Ousmane Dembélé stays high and wide with the ability to beat any fullback in the world.

Griezmann glues together the different aspects of the French attack, as well as bridging the gap between the defensive department of the team, and the superstar talents they possess up front. He is often found in the space between Giroud and Dembélé when France are in possession. This forms a front five of sorts when France attack. Hernandez and Dembélé flank this attacking shape. Griezmann drifts out to the right half space while Mbappe drifts into a more central position to the left of Giroud. Griezmann has freedom in his attacking positioning but seeks wider areas on the edge of the box where he can use both his shooting and passing abilities should the space be afforded. His ability to adapt to different circumstances in game as well as tactical flexibility has meant he has been ever-present in France’s team over recent years. The final will be his 74th consecutive start for France.

Rabiot and Tchouameni are the midfield pairing usually. Against Morocco, Fofana filled in for Rabiot, another virus victim of the France camp, but Rabiot will be selected for the final should he be deemed fit enough. The midfield pair are physical and, without advancing too high, have enough ability to evade opposition pressure and retain possession.

Defensively France have the potential to be rash, with the physicality and pace of their defenders sometimes leading to over-committing when challenging. The penalty Hernandez gave away when he fouled Mount in the quarter-final is an example over an over-willingness to show this physical strength when defending. This tendency will have to be eradicated when playing against Messi and Alvarez, who would both punish mistakes like this brutally. The danger of doing so was seen in the Argentina-Croatia game where Gvardiol was a little too eager to challenge Messi, due to the physical superiority he held over the little Argentinian. This ultimately led to Alvarez’s second goal when Messi beat the young defender twice in a long run with the ball.

Argentina

Expected Line-up : Martinez – Molina Romero Otamendi Acuna – De Paul Fernández Paredes Mac Allister – Messi Alvarez

Possessing an industrious, but less talented midfield structure than their opponents, Argentina are reliant on one man for much of their attacking spark. Fortunately for them that man is the greatest creator of all time. This tournament he has contributed 8 goal involvements (5 goals and 3 assists), the most of any player. He has formed a good partnership with the hard-working Julian Alvarez, unlike any partnership Messi had when Argentina fell short in the 2014 final. Gonzalo Higuian was famously poor in front of goal at the tournament, including the final, and is viewed by many to have cost Messi the World Cup. Messi is the only survivor from Argentina’s 2014 squad and Argentina seem to have formed a much stronger team around him, epitomised by the top performances from Julian Alvarez.

The front two of Argentina simply must perform against Les Bleus. The reliance on their capabilities is due to a midfield that does not offer nearly as much in creativity and threat, as it does in aggression and solidity. This is their most notable area of weakness compared to the French, who have many more ways threaten an opposing defence. This is not apparent as a problem in the goalscoring figures at this tournament, though, with Argentina scoring just one goal less than France’s 13 so far.

Defensively Argentina have been secure, keeping 3 clean sheets in their 6 matches so far. France have only managed one. The defensive shape of a 4-4-2 is strict and the luxury of having the ever-walking Messi is paid for by the hard work of Alvarez, often dropping in to help the midfield four should they be outnumbered. The midfield is made up of primarily central midfielders, and is a more traditional midfield four where all four players have a significant defensive burden on them. This is preferred over elegant and technical players such as Angel Di Maria. De Paul, who starts on the right, has been jokingly referred to as Messi’s bodyguard, often seen keeping an eye on those shaking hands with Messi post-match. On the field this is perhaps more true, with De Paul engaging in a press on the right, due to the absence of defensive involvement from Messi.

The back eight of Argentina’s midfield and defence are tenacious and nasty, making football far less enjoyable for anyone they come up against. Romero and Otamendi are the prime examples of this philosophy. Neither are afraid to put their body in harm’s way, or cause harm to an opponent’s body, to keep a clean sheet. Acuna should come back in for Tagliafico at left back, after serving a one match suspension, with Molina starting at right back. These two are responsible for providing width in a team with a narrow midfield four. They will be well-covered for by the likes of De Paul and Paredes should they advance, leaving Mbappé and Dembélé behind.

Can Messi crown his near-perfect career?

No player has ever harnessed greater goalscoring ability than Messi, nor has anyone ever assisted as many goals. No player has as many Ballon D’or awards as the little magician. He has won every thing available at club level, as well as the Copa America with Argentina. The only imperfection in his cabinet is the lack of a World Cup. Pelé, Maradona and Ronaldo Nazario are discussed as the best players of all time and all have one slight edge over Messi, but that could be put to bed this weekend. This game may finally settle a debate, in the eyes of many, over who the greatest footballer of all time is. He came so close in 2014 with an entirely different group of players around him and the footballing world is largely hoping he can go one better.

Will Messi’s Argentina win it, or will France retain their crown?

It feels almost written in the stars that Messi will complete his footballing trophy cabinet with a World Cup, and this is his last chance to do so. This game is so hard to predict because of the seemingly equal strength of both sides. Neither have looked entirely convincing en route to the final and both experienced especially nervous quarter-final matches. If one side has the edge, I think Argentina have the extra something special needed to win what should be a cagey affair.

France are two games away from winning back-to-back World Cups, and could become the first nation to win the World Cup as reigning champions since Pele’s Brazil in 1962. Mbappé’s journey has followed similarly to the great Brazilian’s so far and the tournament’s joint top scorer will be a tough test for Morocco’s rigid defence.

Morocco have already gone further in this World Cup than any African nation before. This is not an fluke by any means. The team have encountered Canada, Croatia, Belgium, Spain and Portugal en route to the final without conceding once to an opposition player. The North African nation exceeded expectations when they made it to the knockout stages and now find themselves just two games away from becoming the first team outside of Europe and South America to win the World Cup.

France Expected Line-up : Lloris – Koundé Varane Upamecano Hernandez – Rabiot Tchouameni Griezmann – Dembélé Giroud Mbappé

Morocco Expected Line-up : Bono – Hakimi El Yamiq Saïss Attiyat-Allah – Amrabat Ounahi Amallah – Ziyech En Nesyri Boufal

Griezmann and France’s Threat

They are favourites and their quality is hard to overlook. The quality has been exemplified by Antoine Griezmann, playing deeper than ever before. The Atletico forward drops into midfield alongside Tchouameni as Rabiot covers the left wing. Mbappe and Giroud stay higher and this creates a 4-4-2 formation when Les Bleus are out of possession. Griezmann’s technical quality suits this deeper role due to his ball playing ability. This was seen in his two assist against England. In this midfield role, Griezmann evades the pressure of a central defender or holding midfielder and is free to pick out the runs of France’s attackers. This often involves drifting out to the half-space, as Kevin De Bruyne does so well for Manchester City. Finding space in this wider position allows him to pick out Giroud’s runs in a way he can not when employed in a higher position. Griezmann sees more of the game in this role which is incredibly valuable for a player of his intelligence.

Hakimi vs Mbappé

The key battle in this game seems to be between PSG’s Moroccan right back and their French left winger. Mbappe was kept quiet against England but this came at a cost for Southgate’s side. Kyle Walker did not advance as he may have against a different opponent. This meant Jordan Henderson had to fill the void left through the lack of an attacking fullback. The Liverpool midfielder, of course, struggled in this role and England seemed to lack adequate numbers to trouble France on the right wing at times. Ounahi will struggle to help in the midfield battle should he be required to fill the Hakimi-shaped void in Morocco’s attacking shape.

Morocco can surely not keep Achraf Hakimi from advancing due to the threat of Mbappé. They will lose too much going forward and Ziyech will struggle to cause a threat should he be too isolated on Morocco’s right wing. Hakimi excels when advancing with the ball down the right flank. In a team who may lack the threat to break down France, they will be reluctant to surrender the dangerous attacking weapon they have in their star fullback. This may force Mbappé to track back slightly more but it could be very dangerous for Morocco should they employ Hakimi in a forward-thinking role.

Morocco’s Organised Defence

As mentioned earlier, Croatia, Spain, Belgium and Portugal all failed to score against Morocco. The defence is organised and disciplined but does not lack quality. Romain Saïss, a true leader in Morocco’s back line who hopes to be fit for tonight, suffered an injury in the last match. For the last half-hour of the game Morocco were playing a make-shift back four which featured two central defenders who do not make it into their best eleven. This shows that despite the individual quality of Sofyan Amrabat the base of the midfield, Achraf Hakimi at right back, and Romain Saïss at centre back, the Moroccan defensive resilience is due to defensive discipline. For that, huge credit has to go to the head coach, Walid Regragui.

They will test France’s patience and make it difficult, as they have for the top teams they have dispatched so far. They have afforded chances and have been lucky to not concede at all against these top opponents. Their excellent goalkeeper, Sevilla’s Bono, combined with the few chances they usually afford their opposition, will mean France must be lethal with the chances they are presented with.

How will Morocco trouble France?

Morocco play counter-attacking and do not see much of the ball, aware of their relative technical inability when facing top quality opponents. Their wingers though, Boufal and Ziyech, do possess great ability on the ball. Ziyech is a threat when taking set pieces as well as creating from open play. He is excellent at bringing the fullbacks into the game, both of which are willing and able to advance when needed. Boufal is a tricky winger who has the ability to make defenders look silly. France’s defenders are all quick and strong, often to eager to show this ability and get the ball quickly. This may present Boufal with chances to get in behind should they challenge at the wrong time. En Nesyri, their striker, has been average at best for Sevilla. Despite this, he showed his incredible aerial ability against Portugal, with a goal which a certain man on the Portuguese bench would have been proud of.

In conclusion…

Morocco’s fairytale run will end against the French, surely. Although, the world has thought that when they faced Spain and Portugal. Morocco would love to cause another upset, but after what they have shown so far it would not be too much of a surprise. They have the support of many neutral fans, due to being the last remaining Arabic-speaking nation in the competition, which should create a favourable atmosphere. France, though, will surely have to much attacking quality for Morocco to keep them out. Should their own defence remain concentrated their attacking quality should see them progress to the final.

Arguably the toughest test in Southgate’s tenure awaits tonight. England have looked strong so far in this World Cup but for the first time they go into a match as underdogs. Against the world champions, we will get a true look into the progress this team have made over the last few years. England have never beaten the reigning champions in the World Cup, and today I’ll look at what chance they have of doing so.

Southgate’s Selection

An unchanged team is expected from the Round of 16 win against Senegal. Crucially this means there should be no place for Marcus Rashford, leaving Foden on the left wing with Saka on the right.

Saka’s role is crucial in helping Walker to deal with Mbappe, exploiting the space Mbappe does not cover defensively. Mbappe does not have the responsibility to track back on the left wing in France’s lopsided 4-2-3-1 formation.

Out of possession this means Rabiot, the left sided in their midfield pairing, covers that space. Griezmann then drops in from his no.10 position to cover the space vacated by Rabiot. This means that Saka will often be left in space with Rabiot having some distance to cover to mark him. This will often leave Saka with one man to beat on France’s left side, Theo Hernandez. The AC Milan left back is incredibly fast and physical so Saka may cause more problems for Hernandez than the right footed Rashford, who would struggle to get the better taking on Hernandez on the outside. Saka, often cutting in on his left foot, will be more difficult for Hernandez to deal with and will offer an opportunity for England to create an overload on his side with an overlapping run from Kyle Walker or a midfielder. If this becomes a problem for France, Mbappe may be forced to track back more than usual, reducing his attacking threat.

Foden will need to retain possession well as England will have less of the ball against France, and he usually does so very well. Kounde, France’s right back, plays club football as a centre back for Barcelona, and his play reflects this in the way he is reserved in his positioning, rarely committing forward as much as his left-sided counterpart, Hernandez.

France’s Attacking Threat

France have a very dangerous, multi-faceted attack. Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele flank the team, who are rapid, skillful and unpredictable. Giroud will offer a unique direct threat, and his ability to find space in the box coupled with his innovative finishing ability makes him a tough test for England’s centre backs. Griezmann has been ever-present in France’s team over the last few years and offers the complete package for an attacking midfielder.

Giroud is always a threat in the box and will need to be carefully marked due to the crossing ability of Hernandez, Dembele and Griezmann. He will occupy both centre backs at times meaning runs off the full backs or midfielders of England may create an overload which Stones and Maguire can not deal with. Despite this, the pair both have good aerial ability and enough pace to keep up with Giroud’s runs, so should not be overly troubled by his aerial threat as much as other France opponents, should their concentration levels stay high.

Although no defender is able to single-handedly deal with Mbappe, if a manager had the opportunity to create an ‘anti-Mbappe’ plan with every player in the world available, Walker would be an inclusion in the eleven. His experience, physicality and pace make him arguably the best one-on-one defender in the world. Unfortunately for England, he is facing one of the fastest, most skillful, and most reliable finishers in the world on the left wing. He will need to be dealt with in numbers with Saka and Henderson being needed to close down his passing options or the space he will look to run in to. At 23 years of age, Mbappe has 250 career goals, meaning his fast paced advances into opposition territory often end with the ball in the back of the net. Any lapse in concentration will be punished, but even if concentration is high, Mbappe can be unstoppable at times and England may need to hope he has one of his very rare ‘off-days’.

Ousmane Dembele is famously strong with both feet, has incredible pace, aswell as dribbling and crossing ability. He offers a similar, but lesser threat than Mbappe, not being quite as quick and being much less reliable in front of goal. Shaw, though, is much less equipped to deal with this type of threat than Walker and this could be a serious mismatch.

Griezmann is a technically strong attacking midfielder who offers great defensively capacities due to his hard-working nature, especially compared to other players in his position. England’s relatively reserved midfield three should not struggle to deal with his attacking threat but may become a problem if England midfield is stretched to help deal with France’s wingers. He has the ability to pick out clever passes and offers a huge goalscoring threat when in space on the edge of the box.

England’s Threat

Kane has shown how he has developed as a player since Russia 2018 in this World Cup. He has scored just one but has provided consistent chances to his teammates and England have scored twelve goals in their four matches despite their usual talisman only scoring once. Rashford and Saka have scored three each and shown how England have become less reliable on Kane’s goals to get results.

The criticism of Harry Kane has often been that he drops too deep for England, but we have seen how dependent England are on this movement. The first thirty minutes against Senegal saw Kane stay high and advanced, and England’s midfield lacks the creative spark of many others without the assistance of Kane’s movement and passing ability. Kane vacating the box often drags defenders with him, as they fear the passing ability he possesses. This means that the wingers have more space to run into, particularly inside the fullback. Foden and Saka could benefit from this as France’s physical centre backs will be eager to hassle Kane when he drops deep. This threat of runs in behind France’s defence may be lessened by the lack of any pace imbalance favouring England. Kounde and Hernandez are both at least as quick as, and much stronger than, the England winger they will be marking. Rashford will be a valuable asset if the bench should the likes of Kounde tiew as the match reaches its latter stages.

England’s midfield offers a distinct lack of creativity, notably due to the inclusion of Henderson for his experience and hard working nature over a more threatening Foden or Mount. France are able to give him space as he has shown when in space he is poor when it comes to picking out a threatening pass. Bellingham on the other hand, has been one of the best players at the award Cup so far. He is the perfect midfielder and his runs into the box may be useful due to the way France’s midfield adapts in their defensive shape, and there is often space left for attacking midfielder players to advance into. His passing ability, tenacity and creativity will be crucial if England are to progress to the semi-final.

Aswell as the previously mentioned threatening of Saka, Foden will also cause problems for Kounde. The passing ability of England’s wide men will mean Bellingham’s runs into the box could offer a real threat for England. Saka and Foden are both excellent at picking out runners into the box due to their roles a club level. Foden will also have more assistance from Shaw than Saka will from Walker due to Mbappe’s advanced positioning out of possession. This could mean Shaw’s crossing ability will be utilised to pick out Bellingham and Kane’s runs.

In Conclusion

I can not help but feel France will have too much for England. They have an incredible abundance of talent shown by their high performance levels with notable absentees at this World Cup. That is not to say England have no chance, and this one could go the distance as so many knockout games have so recently. France’s attackers may just be too much for England’s defence to deal with. With that said, England have a great chance to prove themselves on the big stage once again and have the ability to break down any team, meaning this game should be a truly unmissable spectacle.

As we enter late November, a World Cup beckons like never before: one laced with corruption, sports washing, and social injustice. Allegations of corruption and bribery have been reasonably levelled at Qatar’s bid to host the World Cup. A lack of appropriate infrastructure or a football culture in the peninsular Arab country should have been enough for the bids of FIFA officials to go elsewhere. Coupling these problems with human rights issues was not enough to prevent the World Cup from going to Qatar.

This World Cup is already a huge failure, further tarnishing the image of FIFA and football as a whole. The tournament at the pinnacle of the ‘beautiful’ game has been managed in a very ugly, immoral manner fuelled by greed and politics.

Why did Qatar want to host the World Cup?

Hosting the tournament does not make the host nation any money, contrary to popular belief: not in the short term nor the long term. The outlay is always much higher than the income that is gained as a result of the tournament. FIFA will be the ones to profit from the sale of all tickets and merchandise, as well as retaining all media and TV rights contracts for Qatar 2022. Qatar spent over £200 billion to host the tournament due to the lack of any appropriate infrastructure. For reference, Russia 2018 was the most expensive World Cup ever at the time, costing just over £14 billion. The motivation for Qatar was to change the reputation of the tyrannical, repressive state, increasing foreign investment and tourism. This is part of Qatar’s aim to diversify its economy away from oil (accounting for 85% of export earnings). The neighbouring United Arab Emirates have done so quite successfully, turning their own capital, Dubai, into a major economic hub and tourist destination. Qatar needs to take similar action as its economy is dependent on a finite resource, the extraction of which is estimated to make the region uninhabitable by 2090 should it remain at its current rate.

Not the First Controversial World Cup

Qatar 2022 is far from the first controversially-won World Cup, nor will it be the last. Announced alongside Russia 2018, the December 2010 announcement was soon scrutinised by rightfully suspicious football fans who failed to see the reason any FIFA officials would vote for Qatar.

In 2002, Japan and South Korea were unpopular hosts due to the time difference meaning games disrupted the working day for European fans. Germany 2006 was won after an official who was expected to vote for South Africa, who finished with just one vote less than Germany, abstained his vote. FIFA officials were also charged with fraud over the awarding of the World Cup to Germany. South Africa’s successful bid to host the 2010 edition of the competition was later revealed to have involved bribes. Brazil 2014 was met with riots across the country due to the huge financial outlay and opportunity cost associated with hosting the competition. Whether they are practical issues regarding finances and infrastructure or other issues like a lack of footballing culture or the presence of modern-day slavery, the World Cup bidding process is never entirely smooth.

What’s the difference?

While the earlier-mentioned bids are not perfect, there are clear benefits to them all. In 2002 the tournament was brought to Asia, in two developed and politically stable countries with growing footballing interests. In 2006 the World Cup was hosted by a country as well-equipped as one can be to host a tournament of this sort, with a great football heritage, that had never hosted the World Cup before. South Africa 2010 brought football’s biggest tournament to a football-mad nation, creating infrastructure benefitting South Africa beyond 2010, as well as being the first World Cup held in Africa. Brazil was an appropriate host for obvious football-related reasons, being the most successful country in football’s history. Russia is a huge country who had good infrastructure to host, immense football history, and had not previously hosted the tournament.

No matter which practical or moral angle from which you assess Qatar as a host nation, it is nearly as bad a host as imaginable. They have the money to put the tournament on, and that is where the practical strengths end. The country is geographically smaller than the Falkland Islands, with a population of just 3 million. The nation has had to build every stadium bar one involved in the tournament. This was due to Qatar having next-to-no football heritage, ranking outside the top 100 in FIFA rankings when they won the right to host the FIFA World Cup in December 2010. The nation also only hosted around 600,000 international tourists in 2021, less than Malta. There are usually around 8 million fans visiting the host nation of a World Cup, so Qatar was never going to be able to host them easily. The fans will be kept in tents and shipping containers in the middle of a desert with there being next to nothing when it comes to appropriate accommodation in the nation. The tournament has also, obviously, been moved to the Winter because Qatar is unable to host the tournament at the same time of year it has been played since its inaugural edition in 1930.

The 2022 Qatar Cup

To be appropriate hosts of the world cup, one would think Qatar would cater to the diverse nature of the visiting fans it opens its doors to as hosts, which all the previously mentioned hosts achieved well. Qatar is a repressive, authoritarian dictatorship and its laws reflect the religion of the nation, Islam. It does not allow the consumption of alcohol, sex outside of marriage, or same-sex relationships. The idea that Qatar 2022 was a tournament to show the diversity and inclusive nature of the sport is illogical and the reasoning Sepp Blatter (former FIFA president) employed to justify the awarding of the World Cup to Qatar. How can a repressive state which discriminates against homosexuality among many other modern freedoms be seen as embracing diversity and inclusion? If the ruling powers of sports and governments want to move to a diverse and inclusive future it is through excluding countries that are not willing to embrace change. Bringing the World Cup to Qatar is a clear backward step in this journey. While many have confused criticism of Qatar as criticism of Islam, I think it is important to recognise the difference between following a religion, and religious laws being legally forced upon tourists; football fans from across the diverse world which Qatar should be welcoming. Women also share similar rights to children in Qatar, needing a man instead to permit their endeavours like travel, work or education. How can Qatar host the ‘World’ Cup whilst maintaining repressive rules on those who make up half of its population?

Built on the Backs of Slaves

While the practical and moral issues make the country an utterly incompetent host, the issues are also humanitarian. Qatar’s population of 3 million is around 90% made up of migrant workers, largely from South Asia, who work in unskilled, manual employment. These workers are victims of Qatar’s laws which involved the Kafala system until 2021. This system binds workers through a contract to a kafeel (sponsor), who controls their immigration status. It means employees, in Qatar, could not leave their job or the country without their employer’s permission. This has been largely labelled as modern-day slavery. It creates an economic apartheid in the nations the system is present in. It has given way to poor living conditions, passports being seized, non-payment of wages, and physical abuse. Unionisation was illegal and anyone who tried to organise a union to protect these migrant workers was arrested.

This type of treatment and behaviour has been present across the world, and slavery of some sort has had a hand in building almost every advanced country in the world today. Some, including FIFA president Gianni Infantino, have used this to protect Qatar from scrutiny. Infantino also claimed to know what is like to be discriminated against just a few days ago, saying “Today I feel [like] a migrant worker” in a frankly insane statement that “made King Lear look balanced” according to The Times’ chief football writer Henry Winter. His given reason was that he was picked on for being ginger with freckles in school. Infantino also claimed that Western countries could not scrutinise Qatar due to their own past humanitarian issues. This man is at the pinnacle of FIFA, and therefore, the governing powers of football. The migrant worker he “feels” like would have to work for over 2600 years straight, without sleep or breaks, to earn what Infantino has earnt in his 6 years as FIFA president. . The remarks are ignorant, shocking, and truly concerning.

FIFA is guided by money and the decisions on football’s future are in the hands of a few greedy business people who do not have the future of the game in their best interests. The 2022 Qatar World Cup epitomises everything wrong with the way football functions at the highest level. Any country, it seems, can buy the World Cup. Eleven of the 22 committee members who voted on the Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022 tournaments have been fined, suspended, banned for life, or prosecuted for corruption. For a sport often described as the beautiful game, football is getting very ugly.