Indian vlogger installs Lionel Messi cutout underwater ahead of FIFA World Cup final 

Lionel Messi is set to play the biggest game of his legendary career as Argentina get ready to take on France in the final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Fans across the globe are keen to see Messi lift the trophy for the first time in his career.

The excitement surrounding the high-voltage clash has been bubbling in India as well. An Indian fan from Lakshadweep, Mohammed Swadikh, has done something extraordinary.

The vlogger took a three-foot-long cutout of Messi and boated to far off the coast, into deep ocean. Then, with the help of scuba divers, Swadikh installed it at a depth of 100 feet in the ocean. The cut-out is now carefully placed beside coral leaves.

Swadikh has recorded the entire experience and the video has been posted across social media platforms. It has garnered a great amount of interaction across social media.

Indian fans have previously also done something remarkable, ahead of the FIFA World Cup, that even attracted the game's chief governing body's attention. Fans from Kerala created giant cutouts of superstars like Messi, Neymar, and Cristiano Ronaldo before the commencement of the showpiece tournament in Qatar. They placed it by the riverside for visitors to see.

Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez made bold Lionel Messi claim ahead of 2022 FIFA World Cup final

Argentina v Croatia: Semi Final - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022

Emiliano Martinez claimed that while France are the consensus favorites to win the 2022 FIFA World Cup final, Argentina have the greatest player of all time in Lionel Messi. Ahead of the mega-final on Sunday, 18 December, Martinez said (via Sportstar):

“When we won the Copa America in Brazil, the favourite was Brazil, and now people say the French are the favourites. But we have a secret advantage - the greatest player of all time. We don’t feel either superior or inferior to anyone. And as I always say, with a good defence, we have many chances to reach our goal.”

Lionel Scaloni, meanwhile, dismissed notions that the game will be a showdown between Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe.

"The game will be more of a collective effort and not individual effort. Mbappe is a great player, but France has many good players around him and that makes him an even better player. The upcoming match would be Argentina against France and beyond Messi and Mbappe and the match will be defined by every player.”