Former Man Utd star earns shock call up to starting XI for Argentina vs France World Cup final

There’s less than one hour to go before kick off in the 2022 FIFA World Cup final as France take on Argentina at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar.

Lionel Scaloni and Didier Deschamps have named their starting XIs for the showpiece match and there are seven Premier League players who will be involved from kick off. Amongst those are one star each from Manchester City and Manchester United but it’s a former Old Trafford star who is the surprise inclusion.

Angel Di Maria gets the nod for Argentina despite having played just nine minutes of football in the knockout stages of the tournament. The winger, who joined Juventus earlier this year from Paris Saint-Germain, was an unused substitute in the semi-final victory over Croatia but has claimed a spot in the starting line-up for the first time since his nation’s final group stage game against Poland.

Now 34-years old this will almost certainly be Di Maria’s last appearance at a World Cup as he earns his 129th cap for Argentina. He is just one of many for whom this could be their last chance to lift the famous trophy including national teammate Lionel Messi who has been the headline grabber all tournament.

Manchester City’s Julian Alvarez will join Messi and Di Maria in Argentina’s attack while Manchester United defender Raphael Varane lines up for France. The other Premier League players starting are Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martínez, Brighton’s Alexis Mac Allister for Argentina and Tottenham’s Christian Romero for Argentina and Hugo LLoris, also of Spurs, will captain France.

Former Manchester City defender Nicolas Otamendi also lines up for Argentina. The only other former Premier League player in either starting XI is former Arsenal and Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud who leads the line for France.

Here are the starting XIs for both teams: Argentina - Emiliano Martínez, Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Nicolás Otamendi, Nicolás Tagliafico, Ángel Di María, Rodrigo De Paul, Enzo Fernández, Alexis Mac Allister, Lionel Messi (c), Julián Álvarez. France - Hugo Lloris (c), Jules Koundé, Raphaël Varane, Dayot Upamecano, Théo Hernandez, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Adrien Rabiot, Ousmane Dembélé, Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappé, Olivier Giroud.