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Horse Racing Talking Football with…. Mikael Silvestre: France Have The Advantage But Need To Stop Messi’s Feeders
We sat down once again with former France defender Mikael Silvestre ahead of a landmark weekend for Les Bleus. They take on Argentina in the World Cup Final on Sunday, aiming to become the first nation to win consecutive Mundials for 40 years. We quizzed Silvestre on the match, his team of the tournament, Morocco vs Croatia in the 3rd-place playoffs and even had time to discuss the Premier League.
France managed to score twice against the best defence in this World Cup, do you think any team is capable of stopping the French attack?
“Honestly, I think that England had what it took to stop the French attack. I think it will be a very tough game against Argentina. But France has the key to hurt the Argentinian defence but on the other hand they also have the quality to hurt France, when we’re in possession.”
“Argentina are strong in the counter attacks and Messi is obviously always a danger when he has the ball.”
Messi has been amazing in this World Cup, how should Theo Hernandez and the rest of the defence stop him?
“First of all you need to stop the feeder to Messi. And it’s very important to get close to him before he receives the ball otherwise it will be too late because he is too good.”
“It’s almost impossible to take the ball away from Messi when his body are turned against the opponent’s goal. Most likely the defender will make a foul, so we have to make sure to close him down before he gets the ball.”
We saw in Argentina´s game against Croatia that they won the midfield battle. How should France try to win this battle in the game? How important is it to get Adrien Rabiot ready for the final?
“It would be very good to have him back, he has had a very good tournament. And he is very important to control the midfield and we need to do that. Once you manage to control the midfield you have a big chance of winning the game.”
“The best midfield for France is definitely Rabiot, Tchouameni and Griezmann. Rabiot is really in top form at the moment.”
Where do you see this match being won? And yes, what’s your final prediction?
“I think that set pieces could play an important role and the transition moments as well. Counter pressing is important for both teams in terms of putting your opponent under pressure.”
“Messi and Mbappe are obviously key players but there are other good players on the pitch as well.”
“I think France will win because we are very disciplined, so I think we have a slight advantage there but obviously my heart is also telling me that France will win the game.”
Antoine Griezmann showed his importance to this team against Morocco and England. Is he flying under the radar as one of the players of the tournament?
“He could win that prize if he scores the winner in the final. Of course, he also has to maintain his good form in the final. But he has modified his game and has done it excellent in the midfield both when attacking but also in the defensive aspect of the game.”
Will the result determine the Golden Ball winner between Messi and Mbappe?
“Yes, I think that the Golden Ball will be awarded to a player from the winning team. They have both played amazing in this tournament with goals and good performances, but you cannot say who the best player has been before the final has been played.”
France could be the third nation (Italy 1934-38 and Brazil 1958-62) to win the World Cup back to back. How big of a statement would that be for the country?
“It would be really fun to do that. We already have two stars on the shirt as a symbol for the World Cup victories. Football in France is a very good place and we are showing that again now. We are very professional and we are producing a lot of good players, also for other countries.”
If France wins this, does Deschamps’ team become the greatest French side of all time, surpassing the 1998 World Cup and 2000 Euro winning sides?
“France are missing five key players and imagine how good this team would be with Karim Benzema, Paul Pogba, N´Golo Kanté, Lucas Hernandez and Christopher Nkunku. That would be absolutely mad.”
“But I don’t think there is a need to compare the two teams. They were both amazing and there is no reason to compare two different eras.”
How would you rank this French period of domination from 2016 to present alongside the likes of 2008-2012 Spain, the 1998-2000 France sides and also Germany’s team from 2006 to 2016 when they won a World Cup, made it to a Euro final and multiple semi finals in World Cups and Euros?
“It is clearly a very good sign of consistency and stability. It’s been the same manager and staff.”
“The core of the team has also remained the same, you have a group of players within 100 caps, some getting close.”
“And, I guess also the foundation from the U-21 and below is also important.”
“The fact that most top players for France are playing for the biggest clubs in Europe also helps the national team to maintain that level. It’s a combination of elements.”
“Yes, the disappointment of losing to Switzerland in the Euros, I think we were a bit complacent. But in this tournament, we’ve shown a better side of us, more humility.”
“Also the fact that we lost our Balon d’Or winner early on, and other key players, maybe brought a certain uncertainty in the squad which meant they had to function more as a team, show togetherness and fight every minute of every game.”
“There is a good feeling about French football but until you don’t win the final, it’s not done.”
What is your combined IX for Argentina and France?
“In goal, Lloris.”
“Theo Hernandez, Raphael Varane, Dayot Upamecano and Kounde.”
“For me in the combined XI, I’ll put all French players and Messi.”
“I’d take out Giroud and put Messi in there.”
Your World Cup team of the tournament?
“Lloris”
“Hakimi, Otamendi, Varane, Hernandez”
“Griezmann, Modric”
“Messi”
“Alvarez, Giroud, Mbappé”
What do you think of Morocco vs Croatia in the 3rd/4th playoff? How do you see that one going?
“For the third-place, it’s a matter of who’s recovered better. mentally and physically, between Morocco and Croatia.”
“The bench, they need to freshen up the starting XI, so in this case, Croatia have an advantage as they’ve had one more day to recover. They’ve also got more depth in the squad to perform better.”
Have Morocco been the success story of the tournament? Even if they didn’t win against France?
“Yeah Morocco are hundred percent the success story of this tournament. It’s the first time an African nation has reached the semis and they played well en route. They played to their qualities and were hard to beat. Offensively, they had some excellent movement and counterattacks.”
“It was also the fact that this was the first World Cup on Arab soil and they had a lot of fans behind them, wanting them to succeed.”
“They lost against France but they played well in that game despite having a lot of injuries. They made it difficult for France.”
This looks set to be the last 32-team World Cup. Are you sad to see the end of this format or does a 48-team create opportunities for success stories like Morocco?
“The fact that there will be more teams in four years time it will give more opportunities for stories like Morocco.”
“It will give an opportunity to Italy to qualify (laughs).”
“There will be opportunities like Morocco this year. It’s good because it’s always the same nations. Again we find a European and a South American team in the final. It’s been like this forever, pretty much.”
“The progress of Morocco and the number of teams increasing is good.”
How have you enjoyed this World Cup as a whole? Has it been better than people expected?
“Because I’ve had the opportunity to come to Qatar several times in the last few months and even three weeks before the World Cup started, I had no doubt that it would be a good tournament in terms of organisation and setup.”
“Then the competition, no doubt, was going to be a good one.”
“Overall, it’s been a successful World Cup.”
Would it be a good idea to have another World Cup in what is the winter for the northern hemisphere?
“We’ve got to give another chance to an African nation in the future. I don’t think the clubs, the players or the broadcasters are complaining about switching to the winter.”
“It’s been positive and shown to be possible so if there was another winter tournament I don’t think people would be opposed to it.”
Erik ten Hag commented on Jadon Sancho’s mental and physical fitness levels recently. How big of a blow is it for Man Utd?
“It’s not going his way at the moment but I hope he will keep the belief because he has a lot of potential to do well at United. He did it at Dortmund so I can’t see why he can’t reach that level at United.”
“It is problematic but we have a good squad. Elanga, Garnacho, Anthony, Martial, Rashford. We can cope and hopefully give him time to get back to his best.”
Anthony Martial looks to be the main centre forward now that he is fit and Ronaldo has left the club. Do you think that he has the potential to be a top goal scorer in the future?
“Everybody has to play their part and for Martial it’s more of a fitness issue that he needs to be more lucky in. I’m sure he’s looking after himself but he’s had some setbacks. Hopefully he will be playing a lot of games and impact games until the end of the season.”
Former England right back Paul Parker called Diogo Dalot one of the best right backs in the world right now. As a former defender, do you agree with him?
“Diogo has been improving in his defending but from the time he joined United I thought that was the weaker side of his game. Offensively he’s very good, which is the case for most modern full backs.”
“Trent Alexander-Arnold is also in that build in terms of being extremely important offensively but the downside is positioning and 1v1 situations. He was given a chance and has done really well at United as he didn’t have much game time at the start of his United career. He’s made that position his.”
Which Man Utd player are you most excited to see play once the season resumes?
“I’m excited to see Garnacho getting more game time to see how he progresses. You always want to see new faces. Him and Marcus Rashford. I hope Rashford continues that journey of being positive, scoring goals and becoming more of a leader for the team.’
Upamecano was out due to an illness and Konaté replaced him. Lots of Arsenal fans are saying that Saliba was robbed. With his season in mind, shouldn’t he be closer to the starting eleven?
“Konate and Upamecano have already played at the World Cup and even played together. They also played with Varane so it wasn’t a surprise. Consistency is key during tournament football. There’s not much time for experimenting.”
“I’m sure William is enjoying every moment and learning a lot.”
How big are your expectations for Martin Odegaard when the season resumes?
“He’s been excellent since the beginning of the season in his captain role and performance level. Assisting, scoring and dictating the pace of the game. He’s very important and had time to rest so he’s going to be very important. Especially with Gabriel Jesus out.”
Martinelli didn’t get much time on the pitch in this World Cup, but do you think that he can be one of the best players and help lead Arsenal to the title?
“Again he’s a key player for Arsenal alongside Saka. He’s had a little time with Brazil to express himself and give his best. For me he’s one of the best performers in the Premier League and he’s given a tough time to defenders. I can’t wait to see him back.”
Do you think Martinelli could be a serviceable option for Arsenal as a centre-forward in Gabriel Jesus’ absence due to injury?
“He has the capability to play in the role of a number nine if Mikel was to decide it could work. He can be an asset and an excellent replacement for Jesus alongside Nketiah.”
Which Arsenal player are you most excited to see play once the season resumes?
“I want to see Saka keep his performance level from the World Cup. He became a top performer and was finding solutions and the back of the net. Saka continuing at that level would keep Arsenal in the race.”
