Patrick Vieira has expressed his hope that France avoid facing England in the World Cup final, should both teams advance. Speaking as a pundit for ITV after France's quarter-final win over Morocco, the 1998 World Cup winner stated he would prefer France to play Argentina instead.
France's dominant run to the semi-finals
France breezed through Group I, scoring ten goals and conceding only twice, before defeating Sweden 3-0 in the last 16 with Kylian Mbappe scoring twice. A 70th-minute Mbappe penalty secured a tense 1-0 win over Paraguay in the quarter-finals, and a 2-0 victory over Morocco in the semi-finals sealed their place in the last four. Mbappe opened the scoring against Morocco with a stunning curled effort, his 20th goal in 20 World Cup appearances, before Ousmane Dembele doubled the lead six minutes later.
Vieira's preference for the final
During the ITV broadcast, former Arsenal midfielder Ian Wright commented on England's confidence after their victory over Mexico, saying, 'What you're hoping is that the Mexico result can give them that boost of confidence that they need. We know we've got two world-class players who are match-winners.' Vieira responded, 'But why do you believe that England can't do it? I know that we're not at the final yet but I don't want France to face England in the final. I would prefer France to play Argentina.'
Mbappe's impact and defensive challenges
Vieira praised Mbappe's performance, noting the difficulty defenders face when marking him. 'When they're inside the box it's really difficult to touch them because they've got so much pace and they're really good on the ball,' he said. 'As a defender you don't want to be too close because they will be passing you really quickly. You want to create those distances and force them to pass the ball but at the same time, when you create those distances, you allow him to take the shot and score a goal.'
On Dembele's goal, Vieira highlighted Mbappe's movement: 'You just have to look at the pace that Mbappe attacks the space with, the speed that he runs into to create that space for Dembele. He had the options with Barcola on the left-hand side and he had other players on the right-hand side. But the fact that he created that space, he came a little more inside, and he's facing the goal.'
Potential semi-final opponents
France will face the winner of Spain's quarter-final against Belgium. Vieira commented on Belgium's decision to bench Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne, and Jeremy Doku in their 4-1 win over the USA, saying, 'Those three players are quite big names and really important players for the Belgium side. But if the manager is satisfied with the decision that he's made and the team perform and manage to win the game, why change the players? Of course, Spain will be a different opposition but I think he should keep the same players.'
Mbappe moved joint-top of the World Cup goalscoring charts alongside Erling Haaland with his strike against Morocco. The holders Argentina, on the opposite side of the draw, face Switzerland in their quarter-final as they aim to defend their title.
