"Team powered by emotion rather than efficiency" - Chris Sutton predicts the result of Argentina vs France FIFA World Cup final
Chris Sutton has predicted Kylian Mbappe's France will get the better of Lionel Messi's Argentina in the 2022 FIFA World Cup final. Speaking to BBC, the pundit backed France to get a 3-1 victory in the final.
The former Chelsea player said:
"France are quite a baffling side in that I watch them with high expectations but am always left a bit bored, and thinking there must be more to come.
"The holders are efficient, rather than exciting, and at the moment they remind me of a Citroen cruising along an old autoroute. They've got a couple of gears left to find, but they might well get all the way to their destination without using them.
"France don't play free-flowing football, instead they carry the ball forward quickly and pick their moments - and, with someone like Kylian Mbappe in the team, they can be devastating in those moments. Mbappe has only performed in fits and starts but that has been enough. Olivier Giroud has been a revelation and Antoine Griezmann has linked everything up.
"It has worked so far, so they are hardly going to change now, are they?"
Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe head to the World Cup Final with five goals each.⚽️
Messi has three assists. Mbappe has two having not been credited with a third against Morocco.🤝
Messi, Mbappe, Olivier Giroud (4) and Julian Alvarez (4) have 18 goals between them in Qatar.🎯 https://t.co/yOoiA6tXEK
Speaking about Argentina, Sutton believed that the Lionel Messi led team has relied more on emotion and a sense of occasion rather than a concrete game plan to reach the final. He said
"Argentina are the same in that they don't care about having the ball, but are a team powered by emotion rather than efficiency - and Messi's tournament has also been about moments, just like Mbappe's has been for France.
"After losing their first game of the tournament against Saudi Arabia, they have been under pressure ever since.
"They have handled that well, and also the expectations of their supporters - that has proved too much for them in the past but, here, their fans have lifted the team with their outstanding backing and they will outnumber France in the final too.
"From watching them so far, I think they will try to stay in the game early on and then wait for the spaces to open up for Messi, which is when he has become prominent. Julian Alvarez has been superb and will be a threat with his runs behind the defence but, overall, France still have more firepower."
Chris Sutton's prediction: Argentina 1-3 France
Kylian Mbappe and France will be looking to deny Lionel Messi and Argentina their crowning moment in the FIFA World Cup final
Lionel Messi is just one game away from cementing his legacy as one of the greatest players to ever play the game. The 7-time Ballon d'Or winner has himself hinted that this will be his last World Cup game and it will be fitting to see the Argentine maestro end his World Cup journey with a win.
If France beat Argentina on Sunday, Kylian Mbappe's career has GOAT potential. https://t.co/zZdlTIJzQW
Kylian Mbappe and France, on the other hand, will look to become World Champions once again and leave their own mark on the football history books. Still only 23, PSG superstar Kylian Mbappe is clearly one of the best players in the world right now and a second consecutive World Cup victory could help him win the Ballon d'Or award in 2023.