The script is written and the stars are aligned. Whatever happens now, the little maestro will be the story – won’t he?
Would a lesser mortal have the audacity to rain on his parade? Even steal his thunder?
Kylian Mbappe could make a big noise of his own – by grabbing the baton for the new generation.
Or teammate Julian Alvarez could keep it in safe hands.
Or any other member of a truly stellar cast might shine when France meets Argentina on Sunday night (11pm in Malaysia).
It has the makings of an epic heavyweight contest. A clash of continents, a battle for the ages.
France won a thriller 4-3 when they met in the round of 16 in Russia. Lionel Messi cut a forlorn figure long before the end.
Mbappe was the star back then and he could be again. Four years on, he’s a more well-rounded player and hungry – he’s not scored for two games.
Both England and Morocco managed to keep him relatively quiet, but his mere presence was enough to disrupt previously well-marshalled defences.
Players were diverted, creating space for others which was gratefully pounced upon.
And every so often he would go through the gears with a turbo-charged burst. 0-35kph in four or five seconds with the ball at his feet!
It scared the daylights out of defenders.
The 23-year-old is now on the cusp of becoming the world’s No.1 footballer, and what better stage to take the crown than a World Cup final?
If it’s not Messi’s night, Mbappe will be the bookies’ favourite to make it his.
Unlike the introverted Argentine, Mbappe is outgoing, multi-lingual, opinionated, and political: prime ministers call him, not the other way round.
If Russia was his coming out party, Qatar could see his accession to football’s throne.
He and Messi are locked on five goals apiece in the race for the Golden Boot.
Teammates at Paris Saint-Germain, they are two-thirds of a galactic front three with Neymar.
They’re among many clubmates who’ll be on opposite sides at the Lusail Stadium in Doha.
No matter how it’s viewed, it’s a game redolent with mouth-watering possibilities.
Star man for France, perhaps outshining Mbappe, has been Antoine Griezmann, revelling in his new No.10 role.
He’s another who could have a key influence on proceedings.
With guile and great vision, he’s opened stiffer defences than Argentina’s and has been one of the players of this tournament.
What may send a shudder down Argentine spines is that France were missing more key players against Morocco.
Adrien Rabiot was unwell while Dayot Upamecano was injured. Rabiot will surely return, having been a terrific replacement for Paul Pogba.
But Upamecano is by no means sure of coming back after Ibrahima Konate’s reassuringly solid performance against Morocco.
If France have a weakness, it could be Theo Hernandez at left-back. Although he scored a well-taken opener against the north Africans, he is prone to a rash challenge.
He was punished (eventually) for barging England’s Mason Mount under no pressure and was lucky not to concede another penalty in the semi-final.
He’ll be marking Messi.
What you see in the France squad is balance and depth, a legacy of being World Champions for four years.
It’s a judicious mix of age and youth, with Giroud, 36, the old man of the squad but still an effective physical presence up front.
Not far behind is Hugo Lloris, who’ll be 36 on Boxing Day, and has had a better tournament than he has season for Spurs.
One of the revelations of Qatar has been Aurelien Tchouameni, 23, who’s tigrish tackling and vision have made up for the loss of N’Golo Kante in midfield.
There’s the even more exciting but raw Eduardo Camavinga, waiting in the wings.
Manager Didier Deschamps has more than enough stars capable of spoiling it for Messi and will have a few selection headaches between now and Sunday.
If a teammate is going to steal the show from Messi, it could be Alvarez.
His two goals against Croatia underlined what a bargain Manchester City got when they paid just £21 million to take him from River Plate.
He will do Messi’s running for him – and some scoring too.
Another standout has been Alexis Mac Allister of Brighton, a dynamic ball-winner in midfield, while his partner Enzo Fernandez is attracting interest from some of the EPL big boys.
There are more familiar faces in defence with Tottenham hard man Cristian Romero, Nicola Otamendi (ex-Man City) and Lisandro Martinez of Manchester United.
Behind them is Emi Martinez of Aston Villa in goal – probably the best penalty saver in the business.
So there’s no shortage of names capable of lighting up this final, as well as some fascinating battles in prospect.
Messi will be the headline act but the supporting cast can still put on a show worthy of the occasion.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.