World Cup Confidential: Lionel Messi pressure could hamper Argentina vs France

The World Cup final between Argentina and France on Sunday has the potential to become an absolute classic.

There’s no shortage of intriguing subplots as Lionel Messi played his final World Cup match and aimed to complete the medal haul of his fairytale career.

If Argentina wins their third World Cup, Messi will be among the greatest footballers of all time alongside Pele and Diego Maradona.

Lionel Messi has lit up this World Cup – but can he complete a fairytale victory on Sunday?

France will do everything to stop him in a World Cup final classic

However, if France prevail and retain their World Cup title, there is a real danger that Messi’s stellar career will feel incomplete.

But what if the immense pressure to deliver the Messi tale weighs on Argentina in the final and proves more of a hindrance than an inspiration?

It’s a topic that Oliver Holt, chief sports writer for the Mail on Sunday, discussed in the latest installment of our confidential World Cup videocast from Qatar.

Also in today’s episode:

• Chris Sutton on how wanting too much can affect player performance
• Martin Samuel on why France’s industrious style is a reflection of their coach Didier Deschamps when he was a player

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE

Our writers Oliver Holt, Martin Samuel and Chris Sutton spoke at sports mail and MailPlus’ daily videocast “World Cup Confidential”.

It appears on MailOnline every morning of the tournament and can be found on our YouTube channel.