Argentina or France? Rio Ferdinand hints at favourite to win World Cup final
Rio Ferdinand has suggested Argentina are favourites to win the World Cup final against France.
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Defending champions France will meet two-time winners Argentina in Sunday’s final in Qatar.
France, who beat Croatia in the 2018 final, are bidding to become the first country to retain the World Cup for 60 years, having beaten surprise package Morocco 2-0 in the second semi-final.
Argentina had booked their place in a sixth World Cup final 24 hours earlier as Lionel Messi scored and assisted in a 3-0 win over Croatia.
Messi, 35, is flourishing in his final World Cup and Ferdinand believes the Paris Saint-Germain superstar could be the difference in Sunday’s final.
‘I think the stars are aligning for Lionel Messi,’ Ferdinand told BBC One when asked for his take on the World Cup final.
‘We saw him reach 1,000 [competitive] games during this tournament. When the question is asked – who is the best, Maradona or Messi, and people say Messi has not won a World Cup. This could be his moment.
‘Fairytale wise we wanted Morocco to win [the semi-final against France], but now we’ve got a two final with two megastars in Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe. It could be the passing of the baton. Who knows?
‘There are so many different sub plots to what could be a great game. As good as France are, I think Lionel Messi and Argentina will be sat there licking their lips a little bit.
‘They will be thinking there are areas they can get at France, particularly down the left-hand area of their defence.
‘When France were run at they did panic a little bit and with Julian Alvarez and Messi dancing and wiggling around, it is going to be a great game.’
Morocco became the first African side to reach a World Cup semi-final in Qatar but were left to rue several missed chances as they were knocked out by France.
Former Manchester United and England defender Ferdinand added: ‘The Morocco players will go back as heroes. The roar from the fans signifies what they will be receiving when they go back and rightly so.’
Premier League legend Alan Shearer also praised Morocco’s players for their history-making World Cup campaign but said France’s resilience told in the big moments.
‘Morocco can be very, very proud of what they’ve done and achieved and the effort that they’ve put in, not just today but in the whole tournament,’ he said.
‘Their fans have had a fantastic time and really enjoyed it. They have just come short because of their lack of quality in the final third.
‘They got into so many good positions and just couldn’t find that killer touch to put the ball in the back of the net. Morocco had France rocking at times.
‘But there was a different quality to France. Without playing really well they’ve found a way. They are tough team to beat.’
Argentina and France have met 12 times before, with the south Americans winning six of those encounters. France came out on top in the most recent meeting, however, beating Argentina 4-3 in the first knockout round of the 2018 World Cup.
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