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2022 FIFA World Cup

Argentina Set To ‘Punish’ Kylian Mbappe In World Cup Final After Derogatory Comments

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Argentina Set To 'Punish' Kylian Mbappe In World Cup Final After Derogatory Comments
Kylian Mbappe has questioned the quality of Argentina's football (Image: Getty)

Argentina has extra motivation to silence Kylian Mbappe in the World Cup final on Sunday after damning comment the striker made in the not-too-distant past about the quality of South American football.

The anticipation and excitement is building ahead of the blockbuster World Cup final between Argentina and France as Les Bleus head into Sunday’s match looking to defend their crown as world champions, having won the title in 2018.

Argentina, meanwhile, hope to give Messi a proper send-off by securing the trophy in what will be his final game for the national team.

A close encounter is expected between two giants of the international game, with arguably the two best players on the planet in Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe going up against each other to bring down the curtain on Qatar’s tournament.

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Speaking earlier this year in an interview with TNT Brasil about the qualification process to reach the finals of the World Cup, Mbappe said: “Argentina haven’t played games of great quality to reach the World Cup. In South America football isn’t as advanced as Europe. That’s why if you look at the last World Cups it’s always the Europeans that win.”

His comments did not seem to go down well at all on the continent, and Argentina forward Lautaro Martinez was among those to show his displeasure. “Most of those of us who have been called up are in Europe and every day, even every training, you measure up against them,” he fired back.

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“That’s why I’ll say that we’re feeling good and working on the ideas the trainer asks of us. We are happy with how it’s working and what we’re doing on the field. I saw what [Mbappe] said, but Argentina and Brazil have players of great quality and talent. Brazil, just like us, has most of its players in Europe. I thought it was an unfair comment.”

Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez agreed with his teammate. “Bolivia in La Paz, Ecuador with 30-degree celsius heat, Colombia where you can’t even breathe… they (in Europe) always play on perfect pitches and have no idea what South America is all about,” he snapped.

“Every time you travel with the national team you’ve got two days coming and going, you are exhausted and can’t train much. When an England player goes to train they are at the ground in half an hour. Let them go to Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and see if it is that easy.”

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READ ALSO: France Will Do ‘Everything Humanly Possible’ To Stop Messi From Winning The World Cup – Deschamps

However, Aurelien Tchouameni believes that Mbappe will prove he’s the best as he backs striker to show he’s above even Messi in World Cup final

“For me, Kylian is the best… and he will prove it on Sunday,” he said to TyC Sports, adding: “We’re all going to work together to achieve it. We’re going to make a plan, recover well and work to win this game because Messi will be there, but he also has 10 other players by his side.”

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