Qatar World Cup 2022: Is France scared of Argentina's Lionel Messi? Theo Hernandez remarks

We have reached the business-end phase of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. On Sunday, the all-exciting final will be played between former two-time champion Argentina and two-time defending champion France at the Lusail Iconic Stadium. Both teams have had a terrific tournament, and an outright winner is hard to pick for this. Meanwhile, some fans are hoping for La Albiceleste to win the title, which would be a fitting farewell to its superstar striker Lionel Messi, who is playing his last WC. But are Les Blues afraid of facing Messi in the grand finale? Well, that's not precisely the case, as per Theo Hernandez.

Interacting with Gazzetta dello Sport, Hernandez noted, "Now we must think about the final, I am tired, but it's so good to win a World Cup semi-final. Now, we must recover for Sunday. We are not scared of Messi, but Argentina are an incredible team, and we have a few days to work."

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Also, Olivier Giroud, who became France's all-time highest goal-scorer, said that his side would look to draw inspiration from the 4-3 win in Russia 2018 and would deploy every tactic available to deny Messi his prize. "Messi is an incredible player, but we will not let him enjoy the best night he can have. But Messi is not only in that team," he proclaimed.

"They [Argentina] have got great players who work for the team also. I think that is why they are so strong. I don't know if we need a special plan. I remember back in the days of 2018, N'Golo was all the game on his back, behind him. But, this time, I don't know what the plan will be. We will see with the manager," concluded Giroud.