ARG vs FRA: Messi’s 10-year-old son Thiago pens a letter in support of his father ahead of World Cup final

Lionel Messi stands on the brink of a long-awaited World Cup winner’s medal as Argentina faces defending champions France in Sunday’s final.

One of soccer’s greatest players of all time is within touching distance of the one major trophy that has eluded him in his storied career.

But having experienced defeat in the final of 2014 in Brazil, when Argentina lost 1-0 to Germany through extra time, Messi knows all too well the pain of having his World Cup dreams shattered.

Lionel Scaloni speaking in the pre-match press conference before the game said “We already decided the strategy and we will play in a way in which we think we can hurt our rivals the most and suffer the least,”

“We have our gameplan, we know how to play them and now we just have to execute, and I hope we can play a similar game as we did against the Netherlands in the quarter-finals – but win the match without having to go through the pain of a penalty shoot-out,” Scaloni added.

When asked about Mbappe Scaloni said “To stop Mbappe you need a collective effort. But France is more than just Mbappe. We need to focus on making a good game collectively,”

“Sunday’s game is much more than Lionel Messi against Mbappe, it’s Argentina against France, it goes beyond that.” he added.

The Argentina boss further went on to say “We both have the necessary weapons so that the game can be decided by other players and not necessarily the two of them. Let’s hope it falls on our side, but there are plenty of players who can decide the game.”

“Let’s hope that if it’s Leo’s (Messi) last game, that we can win the title. It would be great and the important thing is to enjoy it… What better scenario than in a World Cup final.” he added.