In his 1003rd match as a senior professional, Lionel Messi seeks the milestone that means most. A World Cup would rank above his seven Ballons D’Or and at least as high as owning medals for every major club trophy he has competed for. He has a good chance of it, largely because, 1,000-odd games into a peerless career, nobody yet can confidently claim they have worked out how to stop him.
Not even studious experts like Raphael Varane, who, good health permitting, will lead the title-holding France defence in Sunday evening’s final against Messi’s Argentina.
Varane spent the best part of a decade competing directly with Messi in what was club football’s absolute summit duel, when Messi’s Barcelona and Varane’s Real Madrid dominated the Champions League and made clasico meetings the standard-setter of glamour and technical excellence.
Varane against Messi has featured excellent French tackles and shown off Varane's knack of keeping pace with the very best opponent. Results in their jousts are fairly even. But, still, Varane will vividly remember being nutmegged by Messi, still impish deep into his 30s, and being on the wrong end of a Messi hat-trick.
“The best I have ever played against,” Varane calls Messi. Having watched Messi torture the admired Croatia defender Josko Gvardiol in Tuesday’s semi-final, Varane can only advise extreme caution and vigilance to a France back four including a centre-back, Jules Kounde, covering at right-back; a reserve left-back, Theo Hernandez, covering for his injured brother, Lucas; and, perhaps, a central partner for Varane - Ibrahima Konate - making only his fifth start for Les Bleus.
The taming of Messi, if France are to manage it, also depends on midfield. The French coach, Didier Deschamps, has ingeniously compensated for several absent leaders by assigning a deeper role to Antoine Griezmann.
Is there an elite footballer anywhere with a more rounded knowledge of Messi both as teammate and rival? Griezmann has been on the same pitch as Messi in more than one in ten of Messi’s 1,000-plus match odyssey, first as an opponent in La Liga, where Griezmann has spent most of his senior career with Atletico Madrid, and, over two seasons, as a Barcelona colleague.
Safe to report that Messi and Griezmann can both look back on happier attacking partnerships in their careers than the one they shared in a declining Barca until 2021. It was a spell that gave Griezmann a close-up view of Messi’s stern authority in the dressing-room.
On the pitch, he too seldom tuned in to Messi’s instincts and movements. Griezmann’s capacity to second-guess those instincts may have a major bearing on Sunday night. If one of them comfortably outperforms the other in the final, he could emerge as Player of the Tournament.
“We know what Messi represents to the history of our sport,” insisted Hugo Lloris, the France captain. “But this is a match between France and Argentina.” Lloris has been with Les Bleus long enough to have been in the squad when Messi scored his one goal against France, back in 2009. Since then, Lloris has endured some high-score hammerings against Messi-inspired teams in the Champions League.
For Ousmane Dembele, Messi represents a huge chapter in his own personal history. When the France winger was a 20-year-old prodigy being coveted by various superclubs five years ago, he made his choice because “Messi made me fall in love with Barcelona.” Dembele came to Camp Nou, for a lofty €107m from Borussia Dortmund, and was assigned the neighbouring locker in the Barca dressing-toom to Messi’s.
“He gave me a lot,” recalled Dembele. “I am so pleased to have had him as a team-mate for four years. He was good with the younger players.” Dembele had some low times at Barcelona and needed the guidance of Messi, the club’s most influential figure at the time.
As for Kylian Mbappe, who will start on the opposite wing to Dembele, Messi has, at Paris Saint-Germain, helped guide a young, glittering career ever upwards. With the pair of them chasing Qatar 2022’s Golden Boot award, on five goals each at this World Cup and Messi ahead on number of assists, Mbappe is obliged to reflect that, normally, Messi’s assists work very much in Mbappe’s favour.
In the space of just over a season playing together at Paris Saint-Germain. Mbappe and Messi have shared in 26 goals that one has set up for the other. That’s in just 48 games in tandem. And Messi sets up more goals for Mbappe than the other way around.
If each of these France players has his own catalogue of Messi moments and Messi memories layered with awe and a sense of privilege, they also have the one thing Messi feels the lack of. Mbappe, Griezmann, Dembele and Varane have already won a World Cup. Messi knows them all well enough to be sure they want another, indifferent to the fact it would leave the great Messi story feeling incomplete.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
SPECS
Nissan 370z Nismo
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Power: 363hp
Torque: 560Nm
Price: Dh184,500
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Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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6 UNDERGROUND
Director: Michael Bay
Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Adria Arjona, Dave Franco
2.5 / 5 stars
INDIA SQUAD
Rohit Sharma (captain), Shikhar Dhawan (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeeper), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Vijay Shankar, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammad Siraj and Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper)
DSC Eagles 23 Dubai Hurricanes 36
Eagles
Tries: Bright, O’Driscoll
Cons: Carey 2
Pens: Carey 3
Hurricanes
Tries: Knight 2, Lewis, Finck, Powell, Perry
Cons: Powell 3
The design
The protective shell is covered in solar panels to make use of light and produce energy. This will drastically reduce energy loss.
More than 80 per cent of the energy consumed by the French pavilion will be produced by the sun.
The architecture will control light sources to provide a highly insulated and airtight building.
The forecourt is protected from the sun and the plants will refresh the inner spaces.
A micro water treatment plant will recycle used water to supply the irrigation for the plants and to flush the toilets. This will reduce the pavilion’s need for fresh water by 30 per cent.
Energy-saving equipment will be used for all lighting and projections.
Beyond its use for the expo, the pavilion will be easy to dismantle and reuse the material.
Some elements of the metal frame can be prefabricated in a factory.
From architects to sound technicians and construction companies, a group of experts from 10 companies have created the pavilion.
Work will begin in May; the first stone will be laid in Dubai in the second quarter of 2019.
Construction of the pavilion will take 17 months from May 2019 to September 2020.
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
The nine articles of the 50-Year Charter
1. Dubai silk road
2. A geo-economic map for Dubai
3. First virtual commercial city
4. A central education file for every citizen
5. A doctor to every citizen
6. Free economic and creative zones in universities
7. Self-sufficiency in Dubai homes
8. Co-operative companies in various sectors
9: Annual growth in philanthropy
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 3 (Sterling 46', De Bruyne 65', Gundogan 70')
Aston Villa 0
Red card: Fernandinho (Manchester City)
Man of the Match: Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet