Messi vs. Mbappé on the global stage again? Argentina has qualified for the Paris Olympics
economictimes.indiatimes.comLionel Messi vs. Kylian Mbappé showdown on a global soccer stage to follow their epic World Cup final in 2022.
The men’s soccer tournament at the Paris Olympics starts July 24 and Argentina has now joined host France in the 16-nation lineup.
After Argentina earned its Olympic place late Sunday, beating two-time defending champion Brazil, talk turned toward luring Messi to compete for a second gold medal 16 years after his first.
“The door is open for a player like him to join us,” said Argentina coach Javier Mascherano, a close friend of Messi and title-winning teammate at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. “Then it depends on him and his commitments.”
Mbappé has often said he wants to represent France at his hometown Olympics where the men’s soccer final on Aug. 9 is at the Parc des Princes stadium of his club Paris Saint-Germain.
Mbappé and Messi were PSG teammates when they went to the World Cup in Qatar and starred in perhaps the greatest final of all that ended with the Argentina icon lifting the trophy.
Messi scored twice, Mbappé got three in a sensational 3-3 draw as France rallied to first force extra time, then a penalty shootout that Argentina won.
Mbappé said in an interview last month he wants to “write my name in the history of the French team as a player who mattered.”
“For every athlete, the Olympics hold a special place,” he told GQ magazine.
It is not so simple for a great player just to say he wants to play at a Olympics tournament played in late-July and early-August.
FIFA-written tournament
