Patrick Vieira, the French football legend, has expressed his preference for France to face Argentina in the World Cup final over England, citing a desire to avoid a rematch of their 2022 final.
Vieira, who lifted the World Cup with France in 1998, made his comments while providing punditry for ITV after Morocco's elimination. He was responding to remarks from former Arsenal colleague Ian Wright, who said that England's victory over Mexico could give them the confidence boost they need to progress in the tournament.
Vieira countered Wright's sentiments, saying, '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 shone again in France's win over Morocco, opening the scoring with a stunning curled effort and moving joint-top of this year's World Cup goalscoring charts. Vieira appeared sympathetic towards defenders tasked with keeping out the Real Madrid superstar, saying, '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.'
Vieira also praised Ousmane Dembele's goal to double France's advantage, saying, '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.'
France will now face the winner of Belgium's quarter-final clash with Spain in the semi-finals. Vieira commented on Belgium's potential starting lineup, 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?'
