Ousmane Dembele accepts that France enter the World Cup among the main contenders, yet expects Lionel Messi to keep Argentina in the hunt for another title. Dembele believes France can repeat the 2018 triumph, but warns that Messi’s influence still makes Argentina a serious danger for every rival.

Opta’s supercomputer currently gives Spain a 16.3% chance of winning the World Cup, ahead of France on 13.5% and Argentina on 9.8%. France lost the 2022 final to Argentina on penalties, despite a Kylian Mbappe hat-trick, while Messi led Argentina’s campaign in Qatar with seven goals in seven matches.

Dembele, who shared a dressing room with Messi at Barcelona, highlighted how little the passing years have affected Argentina’s captain. Speaking to Marca, the France winger praised Messi’s level and insisted that age offers no guarantee of stopping Argentina’s number ten at this tournament.

“Of course, [Messi] can win every possible trophy. [His age] changes nothing. He is the best I have seen, the best there has been in football. He remains quite dangerous. It is difficult to stop him even at 38 years old. He may be that age, but he will always have those qualities. We will have to be careful with him because he is capable of winning again.”

Messi turns 39 at the end of this month, yet Dembele sees no sign that the Argentina captain’s threat is fading. The Opta projection of 9.8% still places Argentina among the leading favourites, and Dembele expects that Messi’s experience and decision-making could again shape the knockout rounds.

When asked if lifting the World Cup already stands as the peak of a career that includes a Ballon d’Or, Dembele did not hesitate. The forward underlined how special it feels to win while wearing national colours and stressed that France’s current squad must stay concentrated during every match in this edition.

“Itis the absolute pinnacle. For a top-level professional footballer, winning the World Cup while defending the colours of his country is the greatest trophy imaginable. Being able to lift that trophy again is, obviously, a dream. But, as I have said, we will have to stay focused, because the competition is tough.”

World Cup tournament and France coaching changes

Didier Deschamps has taken France to three major finals as coach, at Euro 2016, the 2018 World Cup and the 2022 World Cup. Deschamps is due to step down after this tournament, and former Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane is widely viewed as the leading candidate to take over.

“He’s simply an exceptional coach [Deschamps]. He will forever remain a legend among French national team coaches, Dembele said. As for Zidane, I faced him when he was coaching Madrid and I was at Barcelona. He is the greatest, a true icon of French football. He is an exceptional coach who won three consecutive Champions Leagues with Madrid. We hope to be able to welcome him one day to the bench of the French national team. I am convinced that he would do a formidable job, because he is a born winner.”

France now chase another World Cup while knowing a change on the bench is coming, and Dembele’s comments show strong respect for both Deschamps and Zidane. The winger sees a demanding tournament ahead, with Spain, France and Argentina all backed by data, and expects Messi to remain central to the outcome.