Argentina prepared to face defending champions France in the World Cup final on Sunday with Lionel Messi seeking to crown his record-breaking career by winning football's biggest prize for the first time on his farewell to the tournament. After 63 matches and 166 goals, the month-long footballing showpiece reaches its climax at Doha's 89,000-capacity Lusail Stadium on Sunday, with the eagerly anticipated final kicking off at 6:00 pm local time (1500 GMT).
Argentina's campaign in Qatar has been boosted by the presence of tens of thousands of supporters who have flocked to each of the team's matches. Messi has millions of fans in India too. One of them has now installed a cutout of Messi at least 100 feet under water in the Arabian sea.
Watch: Lionel Messi's Fan Installs Cut-out Of Star 100 Feet Under Sea Ahead of FIFA World Cup Final
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Argentina's campaign in Qatar has been boosted by the presence of tens of thousands of supporters who have flocked to each of the team's matches
Lionel Messi's cut-out deep under Arabian Sea.© Instagram
Messi, playing in his fifth and final World Cup, is hoping to lead Argentina to a first title since the Diego Maradona-inspired victory in Mexico City in 1986.
In his way stand the prolific Kylian Mbappe and a France team aiming to win back-to-back World Cups for the first time since Pele's Brazil in 1958 and 1962.
Messi, 35, has collected seven Ballon d'Or awards for the best player in the world, but his last trip to the World Cup final ended in the bitter disappointment of defeat to Germany in 2014.
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Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez said: "People say the favourites are France. But we have the greatest player of all time."
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