Jose Arnaldo dos Santos Junior traveled to Qatar to cheer on his beloved Brazilian national team led by Neymar in their ultimately failed attempt to claim a sixth World Cup crown.

Pre-tournament favourites Argentina stumbled at the first World Cup hurdle before getting their act together to storm into another final, led by their inspirational skipper Lionel Messi who has moved to the top of the tournament's scoring charts.

Pre-tournament favourites Argentina stumbled at the first World Cup hurdle before getting their act together to storm into another final, led by their inspirational skipper Lionel Messi who has moved to the top of the tournament's scoring charts.

Poland's Szymon Marciniak will referee Sunday's World Cup final between Argentina and France, the Polish FA said on Thursday.

Lionel Messi has been the driving force behind Argentina’s march to the World Cup final in Qatar, putting in one eye-catching performance after another.

French winger Ousmane Dembele was one of the luckiest men in the world on Wednesday. While his team made it to the final of Qatar 2022, he had come away from the match against Morocco without making any meaningful contribution.

Moroccan media hailed the national football team on Thursday as the country digested its defeat to France on the doorstep of the World Cup final, ending a history-making run.

Argentina made a statement in their 3-0 World Cup semi-final win over Croatia and will head into Sunday's showpiece with two players back from suspension and Angel Di Maria fit and ready to face France.

Theo Hernandez's goal against Morocco on Wednesday set France on their way to a second successive World Cup final. But it could have been very different if his brother had not been injured minutes into the tournament.

“We’re an intelligent squad, we know how to read the game, we know how to suffer when necessary, when to press. Every detail counts in every match,” Lionel Messi said after hurdling Croatia in the World Cup semifinal in Qatar.

Croatia’s run to the semi-finals of a second consecutive World Cup was nothing short of remarkable for the small Balkan nation and even Tuesday’s 3-0 defeat by Argentina does not overshadow their achievements on football’s biggest stage.

Step aside Cristiano Ronaldo, step aside Neymar. Lionel Messi is here, and he is here for business.

Morocco's dream run in Qatar World Cup may have ended with a 2-0 defeat against the world champions France in the semifinals on Wednesday, but they should hold their heads high after what they've achieved in Doha over the three-and-a-half weeks.

France coach Didier Deschamps admitted he was "immensely proud" after Wednesday's 2-0 win over Morocco took the holders through to another World Cup final where he said his team would try to find a way of countering a Lionel Messi in "scintillating form" for Argentina.

France's Antoine Griezmann proved once again that he is the ultimate team player with another virtuoso performance to help guide his team to a second consecutive World Cup final on Wednesday with their 2-0 win over Morocco.

There was a poignant moment at the end of Argentina’s victory over Croatia. Julian Alvarez, who scored two goals in the 3-0 victory, went to his team’s dugout and was hugged by Lautaro Martinez, who was almost in tears.

France ended Morocco’s World Cup dream as goals from Theo Hernandez and Randal Kolo Muani gave the holders a 2-0 win in their semifinal clash and set up a showdown on Sunday with Lionel Messi’s Argentina.

France set up a heavyweight World Cup final against Argentina after an early goal by Theo Hernandez and a late one from Randal Kolo Muani ended battling Morocco’s dream run via an action-packed 2-0 semi-final victory on Wednesday.

Argentines were in a dazed dreamland on Wednesday in the heady aftermath of a soccer World Cup victory that sets the country up for a final showdown on Sunday and the chance to win the tournament for the first time since Diego Maradona in 1986.

Argentina’s run to the World Cup final has been nothing short of breathless, with a loss against Saudi Arabia in their opening World Cup game triggering a fight-or-flight response that has seen La Albiceleste come out swinging in each of their games since.