THEO HERNANDEZ has said France aren’t scared of Lionel Messi ahead of Sunday’s heavyweight World Cup final.
Hernandez scored the first of France’s two goals in their semi-final victory over underdogs Morocco.
Their opponents in the final, Argentina, have been led through the tournament by Messi who has managed five goals and three assists in his six games in Qatar.
Despite Messi’s stunning record and his sky-high reputation, Hernandez has insisted then that he and his France teammates aren’t scared of the PSG star.
The left-back spoke to Italian station RAI Sport about his team’s confidence.
He said: “Playing two World Cup finals in a row is an incredible moment.
“We did a good job, it was hard, but we are in the final, we will work hard to win this final.
“Now we have to think about the final. I’m tired, but it’s nice to win a World Cup semi-final.
“Now let’s recover for Sunday. Messi doesn’t scare us, Argentina are an incredible team but we have a few days to work.”
France put an end to Morocco’s superb run that saw the side become the first African nation in history to reach a World Cup semi-final.
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The Atlas Lions fought for the full 90 minutes, but the talent of the French side ultimately prevailed.
Les Bleus will face off against Messi’s Argentina side on Sunday at the Lusail Iconic Stadium.
Argentina had a poor start to the tournament, losing to Saudi Arabia, but have persisted to reach the final.
The South American’s booked their place in football’s biggest game after breezing past Luka Modric’s Croatia in a 3-0 win.
The match will see a head to head between Messi and the tournament’s other stand out player Kylian Mbappe.
The two are teammates at Paris Saint Germain, but will have to go to battle in Qatar to earn their side the trophy.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
