France coach Didier Deschamps, has stated that the french team will do ‘everything humanly possible’ to stop Lionel Messi from lifting the 2022 World Cu, after they for the final showdown against Argentina.
Deschamps is preparing to lead France to back-to-back World Cup triumphs, which will only happen if they defeat Messi-inspired Argentina.
France earned their place in the World Cup final following a 2-0 win over tournament underdogs, Morocco, with goals from Theo Hernandez and Randal Kolo Muani giving the reigning champions victory.
Asked about Argentina’s pursuit of their third World Cup, with Messi hoping to emulate Diego Maradona in lifting the trophy.
‘We will do everything humanly possible for that not to happen,’ Deschamps told BeIN Sport in a post-match interview. ‘At the end of the match, someone is getting a third star on their shirt.’
Deschamps also went further to discuss the difference between the current Argentina side and the one his France side overcame four years ago in Russia.
France earned a 4-3 win over Argentina in the last-16 in 2018, en route to lifting the World Cup for the second time.
‘He [Messi] actually played as a centre-forward against us, which caught us by surprise four years ago,’ Deschamps said. ‘Whereas now he is in tandem, just in behind the centre-forward, he is picking up the ball a lot and he is running with it and looking in great form.
‘He is one of the best players in the world and he has shown that, so of course we are going to try and counter Messi’s threat and stop him influencing the game and Argentina will try and stop the influence of some of my players.
‘This Argentina side is different to the one we played four years ago.
‘We have two sides with a great deal of quality and it will be up to key players to make a difference, maybe the team that makes fewest mistakes will win the game.’
