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World Cup 2022: Lionel Messi vs Kylian Mbappe final – which players have dominated tournaments?
Argentina face France in the World Cup final on Sunday, with Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe inspiring their respective nations throughout the past month in Qatar.So will the competition be remembered as the ‘Messi World Cup’, with the Argentine finally lifting the trophy that has eluded him, or will Mbappe guide France to successive triumphs, following on from four years ago in Russia?
BBC Sport has taken a look at six other players who were instrumental in their country’s successes in previous years.
Pele, Brazil – 1958
Pele was only 17 when Brazil went to the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, looking to win the tournament for the first time. Left out of his country’s opening two games, the forward then impressed in a 2-0 success over the Soviet Union and scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over Wales in the quarter-finals.
From then on, Pele was unstoppable. He grabbed a hat-trick in a 5-2 semi-final victory over France and two more goals in the 5-2 win over Sweden in the final – including a brilliant effort when he flicked the ball over a defender who had tried to clatter him with a knee-high challenge and then volleyed into the net.
That was to be the first of three World Cup titles for Pele, although he only featured in the opening two matches in 1962, before injury ruled him out. In 1970, though, he was at his very best, scoring four times – including Brazil’s first goal in the thrilling 4-1 final win over Italy.
Mario Kempes, Argentina – 1978
Argentina have won the World Cup twice and, on both occasions, one player has played a huge part in their triumph. In 1978, on home soil, it was Mario Kempes.The Valencia striker had gone into the tournament on the back of being the top goalscorer in La Liga in two successive seasons and was the only player in Argentina’s squad not playing his football in the country.
Kempes failed to score in the first group phase, but in the second phase he shone with both goals in a 2-0 win over Poland, and the first and third in a 6-0 victory over Peru.
That took Argentina into the final and Kempes netted twice more, in a 3-1 win over the Netherlands in Buenos Aires, as he not only helped his country to their first success, but also ended up as the tournament’s top goalscorer and its best player.
Paolo Rossi, Italy – 1982
Going into the 1982 World Cup in Spain, Italy striker Paolo Rossi had only just returned to action after a two-year ban for his part in a match-fixing scandal in Serie A, with national manager Enzo Bearzot criticised in the Italian media for selecting him.
But after a poor start, the striker sparkled against Brazil by scoring a brilliant hat-trick in a match Italy had to win to reach the semi-finals. He followed that with both goals in the 2-0 semi-final victory that saw off Poland, and netted Italy’s first in the 3-1 final win over West Germany.Rossi’s six goals saw him clinch the Golden Boot as the top goalscorer and the Golden Ball for player of the tournament.
Diego Maradona, Argentina – 1986
Captain Diego Maradona led by example in 1986 as he helped Argentina win their second World Cup in the Mexico showpiece. A first goal came against Italy in a 1-1 draw to help Argentina win the group.
In the quarter-finals, he scored twice to eliminate England 2-1. The first was the infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal – when Maradona punched the ball past Peter Shilton – but the second is regarded as one of the best World Cup strikes of all time, as he picked up the ball inside his own half, before producing an incredible, weaving run through the England defence and beating Shilton.
He followed that with two more stunning goals in the 2-0 semi-final win over Belgium, and was then instrumental in the dramatic 3-2 final win over West Germany.
With five goals and five assists to his name, Maradona was a runaway winner of the Golden Ball for being the competition’s best player.
Zinedine Zidane, France – 1998
Skilful midfielder Zinedine Zidane was the poster boy for France’s 1998 World Cup, which they hosted.He made a great start with an assist for his country’s first goal of the tournament, scored by Christophe Dugarry in a 3-0 win over South Africa.
Zidane was then instrumental as they took the lead against Saudi Arabia, but later sent off in the 4-0 win and missed France’s third group game against Denmark, as well as the nervy 1-0 extra-time victory over Paraguay in the last 16.
But he returned in style, scoring in the penalty shootout to see off Italy in the quarter-finals and then helping his side to a 2-1 semi-final win over Croatia.In the final, Zidane scored two headers in a 3-0 win over Brazil, and his performances earned him a place in the team of the tournament. Two years later, he was named the best player at Euro 2000, which France also won.
Ronaldo, Brazil – 2002
That 1998 final was expected to be the greatest moment for Brazil striker Ronaldo. However, he suffered a seizure before the match and was originally not named in the line-up – only to then start, but fail to make an impact in a 3-0 loss to France.
A serious knee injury in 1999 threatened to end his career, but what followed was one of football’s greatest comeback stories. In the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan, Ronaldo was sensational as he put his nightmare of four years earlier behind him, with eight goals in seven matches.
He got four goals in the three group matches – one in a 2-1 win over Turkey, another in a 4-0 thrashing of China and two in an easy 5-2 win over Costa Rica. Then came one in the 2-0 last-16 victory over Belgium, the only goal in the 1-0 semi-final success against Turkey and both in the 2-0 win over Germany in the final.Ronaldo ended up as top goalscorer and no player has scored more in a World Cup since, although both Messi and Mbappe remain in contention to do that this year. (BBC Sports)
The first truly heavyweight clash of this expanded T20 World Cup format comes freighted with both history and subplots. A rematch of the 2010 World T20 final at Kensington Oval, the match pits Jos Buttler’s defending champions – who are aiming to become the first team to retain the trophy – against the Australian winning machine, victors at the 2021 edition and current world title-holders in Test and ODI cricket. And that’s before you throw in the Ashes for afters.
Already there is added pressure on England, after the rain in Bridgetown led to a share of the points in their opener against Scotland (and that having conceded 90 runs from 10 overs without taking a wicket in a tepid bowling display). Lose to their oldest rivals and it will leave their Super 8 prospects open to being waylaid by the perils of net run-rate calculations, or worse.
The Scotland match was the third abandonment in five suffered by England, after a rain-affected home series against Pakistan, which has clearly hampered their readiness for this campaign after almost six months without playing T20 together. It does not take much for a side to click in this format – and England looked in decent shape when they did get on the field against Pakistan – but Buttler will be anxious for things to go their way on Saturday, if only to avoid further questions referencing the team’s disastrous ODI World Cup defence last year.
Australia, under the laidback leadership of Mitchell Marsh would love nothing more than to add to the English sense of jeopardy – having helped bundle them out of the tournament in India on the way to taking the crown. Their head to head record is less impressive in T20 however, with England having won six of the last seven completed encounters, as well as that 2010 final.
Despite a wobble with the bat, Australia avoided mishap against Oman earlier in the week, the experience of David Warner and Marcus Stoinis shining through in difficult batting conditions. Surfaces in the Caribbean – not to mention those games staged in the USA – have already had teams scratching their heads; rather than the “slug-fest” England had prepared for, following a high-scoring tour of the Caribbean in December, it looks as if boxing smart may be the way to go.
Speaking of Warner, this could be the last time he faces up against England in national colours – and another match-winning contribution would likely reduce the chances of them meeting again in the knockouts. On the other side of the card is Jofra Archer, fresh from an emotional maiden outing at Kensington Oval and ready to take on Australia for the first time in any format since 2020. Can Mark Wood fire up England’s campaign, as he did during last summer’s Ashes? Will Pat Cummins be back to harass the old enemy once again? Seconds out, it’s almost time to rumble.
Cummins is set to return after being rested for the Oman game, which saw Mitchell Starc leave the field with cramp. Starc is understood to be fine and could keep his place – which would likely see Nathan Ellis miss out. Marsh is still not fit to bowl, with Australia likely to continue with the allrounder combination of Stoinis and Maxwell to give them cover.
Australia (probable XI): David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis/Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
The one change England may consider is Reece Topley coming in for Wood, with the expectation that there will be some rotation among the seamers through the course of the tournament.
England (probable XI): Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (capt & wk), Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley/Mark Wood
[Cricinfo]
Once is coincidence, twice is a clue, and three times is proof.
To paraphrase Agatha Christie, that is the narrative around South Africa’s meeting with Netherlands at this T20 World Cup.
The Dutch beat South Africa at the 2022 tournament and ended their semi-final hopes in a match where South Africa appeared to be sleep walking, and then beat them again at the 2023 ODI World Cup, where they exposed South Africa’s vulnerability in the chase. If they to do the treble, not only will Netherlands take the lead in Group D, but they will offer conclusive evidence of the threat they pose to Full Members, especially South Africa.
Of course, it will take some doing after South Africa’s opening performance against Sri Lanka, where they reduced their opposition to their lowest T20I total and chased it down in fairly straightforward fashion thanks to the most stable middle-order of their white-ball era. In Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, South Africa have bankers and big-hitters and, for this match, they also have the advantage of experience. They’ve already played at Eisenhower Park, and have first-hand knowledge that run-scoring doesn’t come easily;Klassen said they are prepared to use their “cricket brains” and play “smarter cricket”.
But the conditions could be good news for Netherlands, who are not naturally a line-up of big hitters and build their innings on a foundation of turning ones into twos. In other words, they tend to take a slightly more conservative approach to batting, which may work well here, but they’ll be wary of the uneven bounce of the surface and will have to come up with plans to counterattack especially against South Africa’s seamers. Their own bowlers were exemplary in Dallas and will look to build on that performance against a line-up that will likely be more proactive than Nepal’s, but who they have managed to keep quiet not once, but twice in the past. Third time’s the charm, they say.
Anrich Nortje’s stunning return to form against Sri Lanka means South Africa may not have to tinker with the bowling combination, and Gerald Coetzee and Tabraiz Shamsi may have to wait their turns to get a game. The batting line-up should be unchanged, with no space for Ryan Rickelton yet.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markam, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Ottneil Baartman, Anrich Nortje
Conditions in New York may tempt Netherlands to include an extra seamer and they have Kyle Klein in their squad. But it could come at the expense of a shortened batting line-up and they may not want to risk that.
Netherlands: Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Scott Edwards (capt, wk), Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Logan van Beek, Tim Pringle, Paul van Meekeren, Vivian Kingma
[Cricinfo]
Nuwan Thushara’s last over brought Sri Lanka screaming back into the match,as he first bowled Rishad Hossain, and then nailed Taskin Ahmed in front of the stumps with a pinpoint swinging yorker. This left Bangladesh eight wickets down, with 12 runs still to get.
However, the experienced Mahmudullah was at the crease for Bangladesh, and despite some further nervy moments, pushed Bangladesh across the line off the last ball of the 19th over.
But this was a match chiefly decided by Bangladesh’s own outstanding bowling. Mustafizur Rahman was the best among them, using shorter lengths and his cutters efficiently, to claim figures of 3 for 17. Rishad Hossain’s three-for through the middle overs also kept Sri Lanka quiet.
Mustafizur was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s downward spiral through the middle overs, which culminated in a crash-and-burn end. Ultimately, their inability to find boundaries, or even rotate strike against good Bangladesh bowling resulted in their downfall. A score of 125 for 9 always seemed poor on a decent pitch, even if their bowlers made a match of it in the end.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 125 for 8 in 19 overs (Towhid Hridoy 40, Litton Das 36; Dhanajaya de Silva 1-11, Nuwan Thushara 4-18, Wanidu Hasaranga 2-32, Matheesha Pathirana 1-27) beat Sri Lanka124 for 9 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 47, Dhananjaya de Silva 21; Tanzim Hasan Sakib 1-24, Taskin Ahmed 2-25, Mustafizur Rahman 3-17, Rishad Hossain 3-22) by two wickets
[Cricinfo]
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