Lionel Messi is on the verge of finally winning the World Cup (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

Former Manchester United and Arsenal star Mikael Silvestre believes there is only one way to stop Lionel Messi as France prepare for the 2022 World Cup final against Argentina on Sunday.

Messi has been the standout player in Qatar, with the greatest of all-time living up to his reputation by captaining Argentina to their sixth World Cup final in style.

The 35-year-old has so far scored five and assisted three across six games and could well finish these finals as both top scorer and top playmaker.

While France have plenty of firepower themselves, in the form of Kylian Mbappe, Olivier Giroud and Antoine Griezmann, their defence has struggled a lot this tournament, keeping just one clean sheet so far.

Stopping Messi, as well as Argentina’s other impressive attackers, will be their toughest task to date and will be key if they want to win back-to-back World Cups.

Silvestre, who was part of the Les Bleus’ squad that finished runner-up in the 2006 finals, believes that Didier Deschamps’ side should focus on targeting the likes of Enzo Fernandez and Alexis Mac Allister in order to prevent the legendary forward from getting on the ball.

‘First of all you need to stop the feeder to Messi,’ the former defender told bettingexpert.

‘And it’s very important to get close to him before he receives the ball otherwise it will be too late because he is too good.

‘It’s almost impossible to take the ball away from Messi when his body is turned against the opponent’s goal. Most likely the defender will make a foul, so we have to make sure to close him down before he gets the ball.

‘I think France will win because we are very disciplined, so I think we have a slight advantage there but obviously my heart is also telling me that France will win the game.’

Adrien Rabiot has been a key player for France at this World Cup (Photo by Berengui/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)

France’s preparations for the final have been severely hampered by a sickness bug that is going around the squad, with the likes of Adrien Rabiot, Raphael Varane and Ibrahima Konate affected.

Rabiot was unable to take part in the semi-final and his absence was very notable in the midfield as France struggled to contain Morocco.

‘It would be very good to have Rabiot back, he has had a very good tournament,’ Silvestre added.

‘And he is very important to control the midfield and we need to do that. Once you manage to control the midfield you have a big chance of winning the game.’

‘The best midfield for France is definitely Rabiot, [Aurelien] Tchouameni and Griezmann. Rabiot is really in top form at the moment.’

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