Even as France's team held its own strategy meeting—Argentina was doing the same.
Reaching the final of this World Cup had already left many Argentine players too excited to sleep. But now, whatever else was true, they needed to gather their thoughts and prepare for the last battle.
Head coach Sabella, dressed in the Argentina training kit, was still speaking at length. "...We've gotten past the Netherlands. We're one step from the World Cup title. But this last step is also the hardest one.
"Our opponents are France—a team that's younger, more talented, and playing at the top of its form right now. In their last match they tore Brazil apart, 8–1. Their attack is lethal. We need to bring absolute focus. We cannot afford the slightest carelessness..."
Below him sat Messi, Enzo Pérez, Mascherano and even Di María, who couldn't play because of his injury, was there too.
They listened to Sabella's words. Now and then, they nodded.
Soon, Sabella moved on to tactics. "On the tactical side, France's core strength lies in youth and speed. Their front line—De Rocca and Griezmann—work in perfect sync. Especially De Rocca!"
When he said De Rocca, even Sabella's tone turned grave.
"De Rocca is an absolute phenomenon for France. Some of you have already faced him yourselves, so you know exactly how dangerous he is..."
Demichelis gave a small nod. He'd tasted De Rocca's brutality firsthand at Manchester City.
"De Rocca has taken the top scorer award in Ligue 1 and the Premier League back-to-back, broken the single-season scoring record in both leagues, and led both in take-ons completed. He's already got a shelf full of major trophies—the only thing missing from his club career is a Champions League title..."
As that list of honours rolled out, the Argentine players' faces grew heavier. They all knew who De Rocca was, of course. He was simply too strong. A phenomenon across the entire sport.
Sabella went on.
"And he's been just as extraordinary at this World Cup—still performing at the top level. Sixteen goals, breaking the single-tournament record and the all-time World Cup scoring record. His individual quality is enormous—free kicks, long-range shots, dribbling past defenders, he can do it all. This is, without question, the top priority of our defence!!"
Even as Sabella said it, in his heart he had no strong confidence. The same was true of his own Messi. Every other team said the same thing—they had to defend against Messi. But could they really?
No. They couldn't.
It was precisely because of geniuses like Messi that Sabella felt this tension—he understood that talent like that couldn't be measured by ordinary logic. One tiny mistake seized by the opponent, and the ball would be in the net.
"So on defence, we'll combine a compact block with layered cover." Sabella's voice grew firmer.
"Javier"—Mascherano—"Martín"—Demichelis—"the two of you will anchor the link between midfield and the back line. Lucas"—Biglia—"you're on De Rocca man-to-man. Don't give him room to turn, to break past you, to shoot. The moment he gets the ball, everyone nearby collapses in and cuts his passing lanes. Lucas!"
Sabella's eyes settled on Biglia, a flicker of expectation rose in them. Biglia and Mascherano, the double pivot—that partnership was the heart of Argentina's defence.
Of course, Biglia's individual ability didn't match Mascherano's, and Sabella wasn't asking Biglia to shut De Rocca down one-on-one. He wasn't confident Mascherano could do that alone, either.
So. His plan was to have Biglia stick to De Rocca while the others rotated over to help. But he still needed to say it out loud.
When Biglia looked up at him, Sabella met his eyes and said, "So your job matters a lot. I'm not telling you that you have to shut him down completely. I need you to hold him up—by any means that doesn't get you carded. Understood?"
The instant Biglia heard that, he understood completely. Be ruthless. That was it. He knew exactly what that meant.
South American football—now that was ruthless.
Seeing that Biglia understood, Sabella nodded, reassured, and continued. "Also, tighten up the flanks. Watch for their wide players getting crosses in—don't let Giroud, Griezmann, and the rest get a clean run at goal through the middle... Lloris, France's keeper, made a mistake last match, but overall, he's been solid. Our attack needs to be efficient—no shooting from nowhere just to shoot..."
Point by point, he worked through it.
And finally, Sabella turned to the attack. On attack, he kept it simple. "We build everything around Leo. Protect him, run hard, create space—for a shot of his own or for a teammate's..."
If Sabella's attacking philosophy came down to one sentence, it was this: give the ball to Messi.
As the tactical briefing wound down, Sabella spoke, his tone was sombre. "Everyone—after several days of full examination and targeted treatment, Ángel's recovery hasn't gone the way we hoped. The muscle strain still hasn't healed. He can't hold up to the intensity and the running of a final. Medically speaking, it's very unlikely he'll be able to take the field."
The room fell into a brief, stunned silence. Regret showed on every face.
Di María's breakthroughs up front had been a vital source of firepower for Argentina's wide attack. His absence would clearly hurt the attack.
Messi's brow furrowed slightly with helplessness. Of course, he wanted Di María out there—his best partner in attack. But he also knew this wasn't the moment for sorrow. The team needed him to shoulder more.
Sabella raised a hand for silence.
"I know—Ángel not being there is a loss for us. It doesn't sit well with any of us, myself included. But we can't let it drag us down. Football is a game of eleven men. One man's absence is something the rest of us have to make up for together.
The rest of you need to step up—more movement, more link-up play on the attacking end, to cover the gap out wide. We didn't get past the Netherlands because of any one man. We got past them because of this whole team. And now, that strength is what we need more than ever. Ángel may not be able to play, but his heart is with us. He's cheering for us too."
At that the applause broke out. His teammates turned to clap for Di María, one after another.
Di María pressed his lips together and shook his head over and over, his eyes went glassy. He wanted so badly to walk out onto that field with them.
But damn this injury.
Then Messi rose slowly, looking around at his teammates. "The coach is right. Ángel not being there is a loss, and it hurts. But we can't back down. We need to come together, treat every training session like it's the final itself, give everything we have. For Ángel. For everyone who's behind us. For Argentina—for ourselves. Let's fight for it."
Time raced on.
As the World Cup final between France and Argentina drew closer, the eyes of world football turned toward Rio de Janeiro. Every media outlet focused on the two sides' preparations. Coverage poured out from every direction—tactical breakdowns, player form, head-to-head history—pushing the hype for this ultimate showdown to its peak.
Argentina's domestic press leaned hard into the dream-fulfilled narrative. Olé ran daily features on Messi's training sessions, hammering the line that "Messi is one step from completion," while not shying away from the trouble Di María's absence posed, calling on the team to make up for the gap out wide with collective effort.
More than one column printed: "Argentina is back in a World Cup final after so many years. Messi's legend needs a World Cup trophy to crown it."
On the French side, L'Équipe focused its coverage on Julien De Rocca putting in extra training, praising him for "keeping the fire burning through hard work, carrying France's attack on his back," while breaking down Deschamps' tactical setup and predicting that France's control of possession in the final would be the decisive factor.
Beyond the two nations' domestic outlets, the world's major sports media joined the wave of coverage as well. ESPN launched a "Twin Cores of the Final" feature, comparing De Rocca's and Messi's technical qualities and their performances across the tournament.
The BBC visited both training camps, bringing back firsthand reporting on their preparations and breaking down each side's tactical weaknesses and strengths.
Among the flood of coverage, one feature from Sky Sports stood out and drew particular attention. The piece focused entirely on the head-to-head between De Rocca and Messi.
"This World Cup final was never just a contest between two teams. It's a direct dialogue between football's two central figures—De Rocca and Messi. This is a collision between a new-era prodigy and an old-guard legend, and the decisive battle that will settle the current shape of world football.
Not yet twenty, De Rocca burst onto the scene at this World Cup, carrying France through round after round with astonishing talent and unshakable consistency. His performance in the semifinal against Brazil, in particular, was the key that let France steamroll their opponent. His speed, his finishing precision, his sense of the whole game—in him, people are watching a new legend of football being born.
As for Messi—a player who's already achieved the full club-level clean sweep—he's long since proven his ability. He carried Argentina through the ordeal of a penalty shootout to fight their way into the final, chasing only to fill the one gap left in his national-team legacy, to complete his own World Cup dream.
In this final, the duel between De Rocca and Messi will run through the entire match. France's attack is built entirely around De Rocca—their sharpest weapon. Argentina's is built around Messi—his link-up play and orchestration are the key to breaking a stalemate. Both men will decide how this match goes.
And of course, when it comes to the top stars in football today, we can't avoid mentioning Ronaldo. But it has to be said—today's Ronaldo has already fallen behind De Rocca and Messi.
Portugal crashed out of this World Cup at the group stage, failing to advance. Which means that for Ronaldo, the chance to go further in the sport—to reach for the World Cup, that ultimate honour—may already be closed off for good.
Ronaldo's career has been glorious enough. He's amassed countless honours at club level and become a legend in the hearts of countless fans. But at international level, he has never managed to lead Portugal to the summit of the world game.
Now, with Portugal falling behind and young talents like De Rocca rising, the chance for Ronaldo to take one more step forward in football has become, essentially, out of reach.
De Rocca and Messi, by contrast, both stand on the World Cup final stage, both within reach of that trophy that symbolizes the sport's highest honour. Their futures hold endless possibility. And Ronaldo may have no choice but to watch, with regret, as a new generation of stars rises."
Sky Sports' piece quickly set off a firestorm of debate among fans worldwide. Some agreed with its assessment of De Rocca and Messi. Others thought it was deeply unfair to Ronaldo.
Mainly because the piece went way too far tearing him down!
Fans tore into Sky Sports online—did they even know what it meant to carry a team on one man's back? Did they know what it meant to carry an entire country on your shoulders?
For a while, the arguments raged on.
For France and Argentina themselves, all the media noise and commentary was just outside noise. Both sides stayed locked in on training. Right up until the day before the match.
Before the pre-match press conference, players from both sides finally started taking questions from the media. Of course, none of them said very much.
When Messi spoke to reporters, he said: "For a player, winning the World Cup is the greatest achievement there is. I'd trade every individual honour I have, including the Ballon d'Or for the title of World Cup champion. When I was a kid I dreamed about the day I'd lift that trophy, and that dream has never faded. I once asked my teammates at Barcelona—Xavi, Iniesta, Piqué—what it felt like to hold the World Cup up. They told me it was a feeling words couldn't reach. And I want us to bring that feeling home to the people of Argentina."
Mascherano said much the same—that he'd give everything to fight for that trophy:
"We'll fight with our hearts, our minds, our souls. We've made it to the very last step. Of course, we're going to do everything we can to reach the end. I hope I can just enjoy this match—this is the game a player dreams about their whole life, and now that dream has become real. Right now, I'm moved—for my teammates, and for everyone who's stood by us through everything, all our family and friends."
Meanwhile, on the other side, Julien, in a rare move, sat down with L'Équipe.
Facing the camera, he said: "My dream has never just been about winning one match, one league title. It's about lifting the World Cup trophy—that means more to me than any other honour. And I believe my teammates and I can get there.
This team of ours has never played individual football. We play brotherhood football. On the field or off it, we're each other's steadiest support. For this trophy, every one of us is going to give everything we have.
I know every French fan out there is waiting on us. Waiting for us to bring that trophy home. I want to make that happen for them—I want to see them out there, cheering, celebrating.
This time, I'm giving it everything I have. Next time, as long as I'm still on this team, I'll give it everything again. And every time after that—until the day I retire—I'll fight for France, and for the French people."
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Gracias, Leo.
Vamos, Leo.
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