Whatever the ending, Qatar World Cup duly delivered

A World Cup that has defied all expectations reaches its climax on Sunday when Lionel Messi could join Diego Maradona in Argentine immortality by taking the south Americans to the title or France could become the first nation to retain it since 1962.

Both scenarios would be an appropriate final act to the first World Cup staged in an Arab country.

But whatever happens, a tournament ridiculed in the build-up and which began a little awkwardly delivered an exhilarating rollercoaster ride that even the cynics leapt on board.

Millions of words were written criticising the choice of Qatar as host to the world's second-largest sports event and the debate will continue long after the last ball is kicked.

But for a month the so-called beautiful game did, in the words of FIFA president Gianni Infantino, spread some joy.

The marquee names of Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo delivered storylines. Saudi Arabia, Japan, South Korea and Tunisia delivered shocks. New heroes emerged.

Yet the abiding memory for many will be Morocco's shake-up of football's hierarchy.

Thousands of their fans painted the desert red and turned Doha's souq into a corner of Marrakesh as the Atlas Lions roared into the semi-finals.

Harnessing the energy of their followers, Walid Regragui's men scored victories over European aristocrats Belgium, Spain and Portugal on the way to becoming the first African and first Arab country to reach the last four.

France proved a match too far as they set up a showdown with Argentina in the spectacular Lusail Stadium where nearly four weeks earlier Argentina's 2-1 defeat by Saudi Arabia lit the blue touchpaper for an extraordinary tournament.

In five second-half minutes Saleh Al-Shehri and Salem Al-Dawsari wrote