Tottenham captain Hugo Lloris has warned his teammates not to pay too much of attention on Lionel Messi ahead of today’s 2022 World Cup final.
Messi goes into Sunday’s showpiece at the Lusail Iconic Stadium as the tournament’s joint-top scorer and aiming to finally win the only major prize in football to so far evade him, in what will be his last appearance at a World Cup.
The 35-year-old lost the 2014 final, while Lloris is aiming to become the first man ever to captain a side to two World Cups after France won in Russia four years ago.
The Tottenham goalkeeper said: “I believe it’s a mistake being focussed on only one player. It’s a final between two big nations, Argentina and France.
“When you face that type of player [like Messi] you need a special focus on him but it’s not only about him, it’s a strong team with a lot of talented players, a young generation of players and you can feel that they are all dedicated to trying to win.“
There is a sense that most of the world is rooting for Messi to finally get his hands on the trophy, leaving France as the potential villains of the piece.
Lloris added: “As long as we have the support of our fans and we know the French people are behind us, nothing else really matters.
“Of course we know what Lionel Messi means in the history of football but this is a match between France and Argentina. There are some very talented players in both squads.”
