Ousmane Dembele knows France are among the favourites to win the World Cup, but believes Lionel Messi could drive Argentina to glory once more.
France, with a 13.5% probability, are the Opta supercomputer’s second favourites to win the World Cup, behind reigning European champions Spain (16.3%).
Les Bleus were runners-up in 2022, going down on penalties to Argentina, despite Kylian Mbappe scoring a hat-trick in the final.
Messi was the driving force behind Argentina’s success in Qatar, scoring seven goals in as many games.
And while Dembele is determined to repeat France’s success of 2018, he sees no reason why Messi, who turns 39 at the end of this month, cannot propel Argentina, who have a 9.8% chance of winning the trophy according to Opta’s model, to another title.
Dembele played alongside Messi at Barcelona, and the forward told Marca: “Of course, [Messi] can win every possible trophy.
“[His age] changes nothing. He is the best I have seen, the best there has been in football. He remains quite dangerous.
“It is difficult to stop him even at 38 years old. He may be that age, but he will always have those qualities. We will have to be careful with him because he is capable of winning again.”
Asked if winning the World Cup was the pinnacle of his career so far, Ballon d’Or winner Dembele added: “It is the absolute pinnacle.
“For a top-level professional footballer, winning the World Cup while defending the colours of his country is the greatest trophy imaginable.
“Being able to lift that trophy again is, obviously, a dream. But, as I have said, we will have to stay focused, because the competition is tough.”
Didier Deschamps has led France to three major finals (Euro 2016, World Cup 2018 and World Cup 2022), but will be stepping down as coach after this tournament.
Former Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane is widely expected to replace Deschamps.
“He’s simply an exceptional coach [Deschamps]. He will forever remain a legend among French national team coaches,” Dembele said.
“As for Zidane, I faced him when he was coaching Madrid and I was at Barcelona. He is the greatest, a true icon of French football.
“He is an exceptional coach who won three consecutive Champions Leagues with Madrid. We hope to be able to welcome him one day to the bench of the French national team. I am convinced that he would do a formidable job, because he is a born winner.”
The post Dembele: Messi the best I have ever seen appeared first on SoccerNews.
