Qatar 2022: Lloris warns France against Messi mistake on eve of showdown

Hugo Lloris has acknowledged that Lionel Messi will require “special focus” in the World Cup Final but has warned his France team-mates it would be a mistake to focus only on the Argentina captain.

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.”

France’s preparations have been disrupted by a sickness bug which has swept through the camp, with Adrien Rabiot and Dayot Upamecano missing the semi-final win over Morocco on Wednesday.

The pair returned to training on Friday but Kingsley Coman, Raphael Varane and Ibrahima Konate were all forced to work separately due to illness, while Theo Hernandez and Aurelien Tchouameni were also absent with knocks.

“I haven’t got any more news since last night because everyone was in their rooms this morning when I got up for my breakfast, so I haven’t seen anyone yet,” said Lloris, who was speaking at a pre-match press conference on Saturday morning here in Doha.

“I’m sure you’ll get more info by our next training session. On the virus, we never prepared for that type of thing. We’re trying to get ready for this match as best we can.

“These are things for which we weren’t necessarily prepared but we remain focussed and we’re very excited about in a World Cup Final.”