The World Cup in Argentina will take place during another period of rising inflation.

According to a report by Bloomberg, as the Argentine national soccer team gets ready for the World Cup championship game on Sunday, annual inflation in the country is expected to hit 99% this month and economists anticipate it will soon top three figures.

Inflation in Argentina averaged 116% in 1986, the year that Diego Maradona led the Albiceleste to victory in the Copa America. According to the data and surveys provided by the central bank, the inflation rate in 1978 was 176%. This was the year that Argentina won the tournament it hosted.

Lionel Messi, who was born in 1987, the year after Argentina won the World Cup, and who is widely regarded by fans as the player most likely to inherit Maradona's legendary reputation, will make his final World Cup appearance against France. A nation that is once again going through difficult economic times has been elated by the team's run to the final match, which has included avoiding early elimination and posting five straight wins. The success has also inspired the team's talisman.

However, the stability of the country's economy is not a reliable predictor of the level of success the country will have in the World Cup. The club was unable to win the championship in 1990 despite hyperinflation reaching over 2,000% at the time. When they were defeated in the final in 2014, the official rate was only 22%, but there was widespread speculation that the government had manipulated the figures.

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