Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport at Lusail Stadium

Former Manchester United and Arsenal defender Mikael Silvestre played at two World Cups for France, including in the run to the 2006 final where they were beaten on penalties by Italy.

"It will be very tight and a tough game for both sides today," he told BBC Sport. "There are two top teams who have grown into the competition, grown in confidence and they have found their best XIs.

"It is much more than Lionel Messi v Kylian Mbappe, they are two magic weapons on both sides who can make a difference but there is a lot that can happen over 90 or 120 mins.

"You don't make a special plan with Messi because it can disturb your dynamic but you have to keep an eye on him. You have to stop the others feeding the ball into him and pay attention when we are in possession."

Meanwhile, France boss Didier Deschamps stands on the brink of greatness, looking to emulate Italian Vittorio Pozzo who is the only coach to win back-to-back World Cups back in the 1930s.

Silvestre added: "It will be an amazing achievement and extremely hard to beat. It will be great for players, supporters and the whole of France if he manages to do it. He will be one of a kind."

Chris Bevan
BBC Sport at Lusail Iconic Stadium

Image source, BBC Sport

No goats out on the pitch at Lusail yet, but plenty of CGI dolphins - and the odd whale - as the closing ceremony gets under way.

If you are interested, here is some official Fifa chat on the closing ceremony...

"The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Closing Ceremony is inspired by celebrating the world coming together for the 29 days of the tournament, from the Opening Ceremony that celebrated bridging the gaps and getting to know one another despite our differences, to a month of football celebration, to the final bow; a musical poetic familiar song performance that leads us to a mash-up performance of (Hayya Hayya) Better Together, Arhbo and Light the Sky from the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Official Soundtrack.

"The Closing Ceremony begins with a special rendition of ‘It’s a Wonderful World’ by the Qatari performer Dana, who made her debut in the Opening Ceremony of the tournament. As the song is being performed, a poem is recited by Tamim Al Barghouti that discusses coming together amidst our differences to celebrate ‘The Beautiful Game’."

You can watch that on red button and iPlayer.

The metro journey on the way to Lusail was very Argentine dominated...

Although there was one chant of Allez Les Bleus.

Fifa is to reconsider the format of the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada, says president Gianni Infantino.

The teams will increase from 32 to 48 for the competition and were set to be divided into 16 groups of three, with the top two progressing to the last 32.

Infantino said that would be looked at after the "success" of the four-team groups at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

"Here the groups of four have been absolutely incredible," said Infantino.

"Until the last minute of the last match you would not know who goes through.

"We have to revisit or at least re-discuss the format. This is something that will certainly be on the agenda in the next meeting."

The group stages in Qatar included some exciting final games as countries tried to secure a top-two place to qualify for the last 16.

The four-team group format, with the top two going through to the knockout stages, has been used since the men's World Cup expanded to 32 teams in 1998.

The closing ceremony can be watched on the red button and on iPlayer if you fancy watching. Use the play button at the top of this page.

We're going to be focusing mainly on the build-up to the game here.

The build-up to this tournament was in part dominated by some of the off-field controversies surrounding hosts Qatar.

Here is a reminder...

Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker speaks to BBC sports editor Dan Roan about the legacy of the 2022 World Cup and the experience of being in Qatar...

In the most unsurprising news, Fifa president Gianni Infantino says the Qatar 2022 World Cup has been an "incredible success on all fronts", including the scheduling of the competition in winter...

What has been the best goal of this World Cup?

Richarlison's? Rashford's? Mbappe's?

Have a watch of our pick of the finest from Qatar 2022 and make your own mind up...

How many Lionel Messi's can you get into one photograph?

Image source, PA Media

You've heard of elf on a shelf, now get ready for...

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

BBC One

Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport at Lusail Stadium

Image source, BBC Sport

Argentina make just one change from the side that beat Croatia 3-0 in the semi-final.

It is a surprise too as winger Angel di Maria, who has had injury issues to deal with in the tournament, starts in place of Leandro Paredes.

Lionel Messi captain's the side hoping to clinch the trophy missing from his cabinet.

Argentina XI: Martinez, Molina, Otamendi, Romero, Tagliafico, De Paul, Fernandez, Mac Allister, Di Maria, Alvarez, Messi (c).

Image source, BBC Sport

France had been struck down by illness in the lead up to the game and make two changes to the team that beat Morocco 2-0 in the previous game.

Dayot Upamecano replaces Liverpool centre-half Ibrahima Konate, while Adrien Rabiot comes in for Youssouf Fofana.

Manchester United defender Raphael Varane is fit to start.

France XI: Lloris (c), Kounde, Varane, Upamecano, Hernandez, Tchouameni, Rabiot, Griezmann, Dembele, Mbappe, Giroud.

You've heard of elf on a shelf, now get ready for...

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Deschamps' opposite number today is former West Ham defender Lionel Scaloni, who doesn't appear to have aged much since 2006...

Image source, Getty Images

OK, so he did actually only play 13 games on loan at the Hammers. Prior to that, he played 200 times for Deportivo in Spain after having started at Newell's Old Boys back in his native Argentina.

He made seven appearances for the national side and went to the World Cup in 2006.

His start in coaching came under Jorge Sampaoli at Sevilla and then as assistant to him for the national side in 2017. Initially part of a dual caretaker setup with Pablo Aimar following Sampaoli's departure after the 2018 World Cup, he took over on his own in November of that year.

It's gone pretty well since, his crowning glory to date being leading Argentina to last year's Copa America.

A win today eclipses that.

It's not even 11:00 in the morning in Buenos Aires and Argentina's capital city is WILD...

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Chris Bevan
BBC Sport at Lusail Iconic Stadium

Good news - Lionel Messi is here too. I'm glad he remembered to turn up.

There were huge cheers from the Argentina fans when the big screens here showed him entering the stadium.

Image source, BBC Sport