BATTLE OF THE SHOOTING STARS IS EXACTLY WHAT HOSTS WANTED

ARGENTINA versus France, Lionel Messi against Kylian Mbappe is the World Cup Final many wanted, and none more enthusiastically than host Qatar.

- Dan Kilpatrick

The best player in the world against the second best, old master facing young prodigy, the tournament's two top scorers, one aiming to finish a glittering career with the only prize in football which has so far evaded him, the other on the brink of winning a second World Cup aged 23.

And, most relevantly for the host nation, both employees of a Qatari state project at Paris Saint-Germain.

Qatar desired this final above all, pitting the greatest assets of the country's day-to-day sports washing vehicle (with apologies to Neymar) against each other in the showpiece of their lavish global event.

Whatever happens on Sunday, Qatar will end the occasion by crowning one of its own poster boys as king and the country will forever be associated with one of football's most compelling storylines.

Messi's involvement ensures the final is guaranteed to end in triumph or disaster.

Either the 35-year-old, who has said he is playing in his fifth and final World Cup, bows out by confirming his immortality and surely settling the debate over the greatest player in history, or he will lose a second final, making for an epic tragedy and a lifetime of what-ifs.

And Mbappe's presence on the other side only increases the stakes.