Arsene Wenger believes that France’s physical power will give them the edge over Argentina in the World Cup Final.
While the contest is being billed as a Kylian Mbappe-Lionel Messi showdown, Wenger insists it could be the all-round strength of the French team that wins the day. He explained: “France has been very very efficient - they have a huge physical power.
“Every player is quicker than the opponent in the same position and their acceleration towards the end of a game can be deadly. That is why it will be important to make a difference early in the game.”
Wenger, speaking at the debrief from the FIFA technical study, says the onus is on Messi to produce a match-winning performance is huge.
“He played against my team [Arsenal] for Barcelona in the Champions League final in 2006,” smiled Wenger. “For him to still be doing this 16 years later is something we should all celebrate.
“But Messi and Kylian Mbappe are under pressure to deliver something special. And Messi is under more pressure than ever to come up with something spectacular.
“We will see two teams who play in a little bit of a similar way but Mbappe and Messi have different characteristics. Mbappe goes behind the defenders a lot while Messi likes to receive the ball behind the midfield line - that is what France will be trying to stop.
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“And, obviously, Argentina will be trying to stop Mbappe getting behind their defenders.”
But Wenger, FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development, knows the contest will not just be about Messi and Mbappe.
He said: “One interesting thing is that you have, as well, two players who were not expected to be here [in the starting line-ups]. [Olivier] Giroud and [Julian] Alvarez have been very influential and will have very important parts to play in the final."
