Argentina and France fans are relishing a date with destiny in Doha as the two heavyweight teams prepare to face off in search of a third World Cup on Sunday.
Anticipation is building outside the 88,000-plus-capacity Lusail Stadium as a dream final draws near.
The match will not only pit two of the World's Cup most successful teams against one another, but will also be a showdown between two of the beautiful game's greatest stars in Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe.
Messi - who looks set to bow out from the international stage after the final - was on the minds of supporters of both nations.
"It will be a tough match but we are confident we have the best player in the world and we have great team and we have the people here," said Argentine fan Matias Ricci 26, proudly clutching his final ticket.
"Everyone is supporting us here. These are historic moments we are having in Doha. I hope Messi will win the title for us to put his name beside Maradona.”
Tomas Santomero, 32, expects the party to extend for days if Argentina triumph.
"We are optimistic tonight that Messi and the team will make us proud again like in 1986. Argentina will win 3-2.
"We played well throughout the tournament and we have been the best team. We deserve to celebrate the title.
"I don't think we will sleep for days if we win tonight."
French confident of retaining crown
France's travelling contingent are greatly outnumbered by the sea of light blue and white cheering on the South Americans in Doha.
But as reigning champions, their supporters are confident of coming out on top once more.
"I'm thrilled to be here. I have strong belief that France will get their second title in a row tonight," said Jean Marc Salah, who travelled to Doha with his family.
"Messi will make his best performance. He has had a beautiful run during the tournament and he might be the man of the match.
"We respect him but the French team is solid and better than Argentina as a team."
match info
Chelsea 2
Willian (13'), Ross Barkley (64')
Liverpool 0
The years Ramadan fell in May
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Profile of Bitex UAE
Date of launch: November 2018
Founder: Monark Modi
Based: Business Bay, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: Eight employees
Investors: Self-funded to date with $1m of personal savings
The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre V8
Power: 480hp at 7,250rpm
Torque: 566Nm at 4,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: L/100km
Price: Dh306,495
On sale: now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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Day 1
Toss: India, chose to bat
India (1st innings): 215-2 (89 ov)
Agarwal 76, Pujara 68 not out; Cummins 2-40
Why seagrass matters
- Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
- Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
- Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
- Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The bio
Job: Coder, website designer and chief executive, Trinet solutions
School: Year 8 pupil at Elite English School in Abu Hail, Deira
Role Models: Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk
Dream City: San Francisco
Hometown: Dubai
City of birth: Thiruvilla, Kerala
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
