Lionel Messi named England as one of his favourites to win the World Cup in Qatar - but he's also eager to get going himself.
WHAT HAPPENED? The 35-year-old winger named three sides that he believes are capable of winning the upcoming World Cup. Messi, who'll be going to his fifth World Cup finals with Argentina, gives England, Brazil and France a better chance than the rest of the teams participating. He also commented on the mood within the Argentina camp as they look for their first World Cup triumph since 1986.
WHAT THEY SAID: Speaking to the South American Federation CONMEBOL, he said: "Whenever we talk about candidates, we always talk about the same teams. If I have to put some above others I think Brazil, France and England are a little bit above the rest. But the World Cup is so difficult and so complicated that anything can happen."
"We are very excited. We have a very nice group that is very eager, but we think about going little by little."
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Argentina will want to go one better than they did in 2014, a year in which they lost in the World Cup final to Germany thanks to an extra-time Mario Gotze strike. Surprisingly, Hansi Flick's side don't factor into Messi's consideration in terms of favourites for the upcoming finals.
DID YOU KNOW? Argentina are unbeaten in 35 games across all competitions, last tasting defeat on July 3, 2019, in that year's Copa America semi-final against Brazil. They're just three games away from beating Italy's all-time record of 37 games without a loss.
What next for Messi?
The PSG man will know that this is likely his last shot at winning the one trophy his illustrious cabinet is missing. His full attention will be on helping Argentina get off to the best possible start when they take on Saudi Arabia in their opening game on November 22.
By Patrick Allen
