Argentina national team fans celebrate in Buenos Aires (from YouTube)
The 2022 World Cup finals kicked off tonight (Sunday), and already records have been broken, statistics accumulated and achievements of players and coaches can be changed later in the game.
France's top scorer continues to break records.
Giroud (Photo: Reuters)
The numbers:
* Lionel Messi became the player with the most appearances in the history of the World Cup - 26 games.
* Lionel Scaloni (44) became the youngest coach in the World Cup final since Rudy Fuller (42) in 2002.
* This is the 11th World Cup final between a European team and a South American team.
In seven of the last ten times, a team from South America won.
* In games in which Kylian Mbappe, Hugo Lloris, Raphael Varane and Antoine Griezmann started together, France won all ten of their games.
* Olivier Giroud became the third oldest player (36 years and 2 months) to appear in the World Cup final.
Before him are only Gunnar Gran (37 and 7 months) and Nilton Santos (37 and a month).
* France is undefeated in its last ten meetings against a South American team in the World Cup - six wins and four draws.
Their last loss to a team from South America was in 1978 in the group stage against the Argentine team (1:2 to Albiceleste).
* In the last two World Cups, the last two players who created the most chances are Lionel Messi (27) from Argentina and Kylian Mbappe (22) from France.
* Angel Di Maria became the first player ever to score in the World Cup final, an Olympic final and a continental final (Copa America).
The 'Hatreya' also scored in the Finalsima final against Italy.
* At the age of 35 and 177 days, Messi became the second oldest scorer to score in the World Cup final.
The first is the Swedish Nils Liadholm who scored against Brazil in 1958 at the age of 35 and 264 days.
* Until the current World Cup final, only two goals were scored by players aged 34 and over in the finals, out of the 74 goals scored.
Tonight there are already two players over the age of 34 who have done this - Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria.
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On the way to an amazing win?
Messi and Di Maria (Photo: Reuters)
* In the first half, the French national team did not kick at Martins' goal and did not touch Argentina's box even once.
* Kylian Mbappe became the youngest scorer to score in two World Cup finals - two days shy of his 24th birthday
. * Mbappe scored his eighth goal of the tournament and 12th overall, equaling Brazil's Ronaldo for the most goals in a single World Cup.
It's the first hat-trick in a final since Jeff Hurst in 1966.
* The game went to overtime for the fourth time out of the last five finals - the same amount was in the previous 16 finals.
* In the knockout phase of the 2022 World Cup, Argentina scored 9 goals and conceded only one until the 79th minute.
After the 79th minute, she conceded 4 goals and did not score.
* Until this evening, the Argentine national team has reached a duel from the penalty spot 17 times - won 11 times and lost 6 times.
* Until this evening, the French team has reached a duel from the penalty spot 7 times - won 3 and lost 4 times.
A historical game.
Mbappe (Photo: GettyImages, Catherine Ivill)
* If Kylian Mbappe or Olivier Giroud finish the tournament as top scorers, they will become the first Frenchmen since Geist Fontaine to do so in 1958.
* Didier Deschamps can become the second coach to win two World Cups as a coach after Vittorio Pozzo with Italy in the 1934 and 1938 tournaments.
* Lionel Scaloni could become the youngest coach to win the World Cup (44) since Cesar Luis Menotti who led the Albiceleste to victory in 1978.
* Argentina could become the second World Cup winner to lose their opening game (1:0 to Saudi Arabia) and still win the final.
The first was Spain in 2010.
FIFA World Cup
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World Cup 2022
Argentina national team
French national team
