France look to prevent Messi magic

KAZAN, Russia (AP):

Like any other team preparing to play Argentina, France face the Lionel Messi question: How to stop the five-time world player of the year?

Unlike many of their rivals at the World Cup, though, France has an answer: a centre-half pairing of Raphael Varane and Samuel Umtiti.

France, which play Argentina for a spot in the quarter-finals today in Kazan, have been misfiring since the start of the tournament, scoring just three goals in their group matches. But the French defence, marshalled by the pair of Spanish league players, has been solid, having conceded just once.

Umtiti knows Messi extremely well because he trains with the Argentina great at Barcelona on a day-to-day basis. Varane, a regular starter for Real Madrid, has vast experience of playing against Messi.

"I see him every day. It is very hard to stop him," Umtiti said. "He's got outstanding qualities."

Asked if these defenders' knowledge would give France an edge against the two-time World Cup champions, France coach Didier Deschamps said it could be useful.

"Hopefully, I can give you a positive answer after the game," Deschamps said. "Knowing him from the Spanish league will not make the difference, but having played against him, similar situations could repeat themselves."

After a difficult start to the tournament, Messi came to life during the 2-1 win over Nigeria in Argentina's last group game, scoring an exquisite goal from a long pass over the defence. This goal aside, his teammates have been struggling to set him up properly.

"He is different with Argentina than with Barcelona," Umtiti said. "He does not have the same players with him, and their way of playing is different, but he has saved them on several occasions."

Umtiti, who has 21 caps for France, will start in the heart of the French defence alongside Varane.

While acknowledging Messi's exceptional skills, Deschamps insisted that his players would also need to focus on Argentina's other qualities, and notably, Javier Mascherano's experience as a holding midfielder.

As a player, Deschamps was confronted with a similar problem when France beat a Brazil team led by Ronaldo 3-0 to win the 1998 World Cup. Ronaldo was arguably the world's best striker at the time, with his speed and fast crossovers making him nearly unstoppable. The French squad spent hours studying "El FenÙmeno" before the final at the Stade de France.

Deschamps also hopes that his strikers will finally live up to expectations after a forgettable group stage to exploit Argentina's lack of defensive pace.

LOST INTENSITY

Despite their immense attacking potential, France have failed so far in Russia to reproduce the intensity that carried Les Bleus to the European championship final two years ago.

AtlÈtico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann, the top scorer at the Euros who was expected to lead France's attack, has been a target of the French media following three unimpressive showings.

"He had a difficult start," Deschamps said. "But the 65 minutes he played against Denmark did him good. He needs to keep playing to find the right rhythm. Obviously, France needs him at his best. He is doing his best to make it happen."

Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli said that his players will try to take control of the ball possession from the start to neutralise the fast French forwards.

"We want to play aggressive football and to attack them all the time," he said. "If they find space, they are going to hurt us. It will be a match with a lot of running, and we won't be at our advantage. If (Blaise) Matuidi plays, and also with (Kylian) Mbappe and (Ousmane) Dembele, they will try to hurt us on the wings. We have to make sure we block these attackers."