Final. Here is the most anticipated game among the 64 of the World Cup.
Argentina and France will duel this Sunday (18) to define who will be the three-time world champion, behind only Brazil (five-time champion), Germany and Italy (both four-time champions).
The main attraction of the game at the Lusail stadium, at 12:00 (BrasÃlia time), will be the confrontation Mbappé x Messi, who share the top scorer of the Qatar World Cup with five goals each.
But there is much more to pay attention to in this decision. Will marks from other World Cups, positive or not, be matched or surpassed?
It is worth carefully monitoring whether Argentines and/or French, the current protagonists, will be capable of this.
MOST GOALS IN A FINAL – PLAYER
Englishman Geoff Hurst scored a hat-trick against Germany in 1966 at Wembley Stadium in London. The striker scored once in the first half and twice in extra time in the English Team’s 4-2 triumph.
MOST GOALS IN MORE THAN ONE FINAL – PLAYER
Three players have scored three goals in Cup finals. Vavá scored two in 1958 and one in 1962; Pelé, two in 1958 and one in 1970; Zidane, two in 1998 and one in 2006. The French Mbappé and Griezmann scored a goal each in 2018 and can try to equal or beat that record.
GOAL IN MORE THAN ONE FINAL – PLAYER
In addition to those mentioned in the previous topic (Vavá, Pelé and Zidane), the German Paul Breitner scored in two different World Cup finals: in 1974, when Germany overcame the Netherlands at home, and in 1982, in the defeat against Italy.
MOST GOALS IN A FINAL – TEAM
This brand belongs to the Brazilian team of 1958, In the decision of the World Cup, the team led by coach Vicente Feola leaked goalkeeper Svensson, from host Sweden, five times. They scored for Brazil Vavá (2), Pelé (2) and Zagallo.
MOST GOALS IN A FINAL – TOTAL
In the 1958 World Cup, at the Rasunda stadium, in Solna (Sweden), Brazilians and Swedes jointly scored seven times. Brazil won 5-2 to win their first World Cup in the highest-scoring World Cup decision to date.
BIGGEST GOAL DIFFERENCE IN A FINAL
The Brazilian team was on the field on the three occasions in which this happened, winning the first two and losing the last: Brazil 5 x 2 Sweden (Sweden-1958), Brazil 4 x 1 Italy (Mexico-1970) and France 3 x 0 Brazil (France-1998).
FEWEST GOALS IN A FINAL
In 1994, Brazil and Italy, in the USA, made the only Cup final without opening counting in normal time and extra time. After 0-0 in 120 minutes plus extra time, the Brazilian team beat Squadra Azzurra on penalties by 3-2.
FASTEST GOAL IN A FINAL
Taking the penalty with force and in the middle of the goal, Dutchman Johan Neeskens silenced the Munich Olympic Stadium by making it 1-0 with 1min22s of play. West Germany, however, turned the match around and won 2-1.
MOST NUMBER OF EXPULSIONS IN A FINAL
In the 1990 Cup decision, in Italy, a very tense game between Germany and Argentina, the South American team had two players sent off in the second half: defender Monzón, at 25min, and striker Dezotti, at 42min.
MOST NUMBER OF CARDS IN A FINAL
The English referee Howard Webb showed 14 cards in Spain 1 x 0 Netherlands in the decision of the World Cup in South Africa, in 2010. There were nine for the Dutch, including the red one for the defender Heitinga, and five for the Spaniards.
As a seasoned news journalist, I bring a wealth of experience to the field. I’ve worked with world-renowned news organizations, honing my skills as a writer and reporter. Currently, I write for the sports section at News Bulletin 247, where I bring a unique perspective to every story.
