Hugo Lloris reveals why pressure is on Argentina to win World Cup final

France captain Hugo Lloris believes that there is a lot of ‘expectation’ for Argentina to win Sunday’s World Cup final as they have Lionel Messi.

Les Bleus and La Albiceleste are both going in search of their third world title, with the former hoping to become the third men’s team to retain their crown.

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s showdown at Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lloris – who could become the first captain to lift the World Cup twice – spoke on how having defining players in the history of the sport like Messi and Diego Maradona means Argentina will be under pressure to win again.

“They are a very well organised team, very strong defensively, aggressive on the ball carrier. They play very well in offensive transitions, taking advantage of the mistakes of the opponent,” Lloris said of today’s Argentina.

“In the history of Argentina, there has always been truly great players. There was Maradona, today Messi. There will be a lot of expectation in relation to this final on the Argentinian side.”

Lloris did, however, stress that this doesn’t mean he and his French teammates don’t feel a similar weight of expectation.

“Now, I believe when you are French, to play a World Cup final, whoever the opponent is, it’s a big event,” he said. “Meeting Argentina at this stage makes things even better. We hope this game will go down in history for the French side.”

Lloris added: “We know what Leo Messi represents in the history of our sport, but I believe that it will be above all a match between the France team and the Argentina team.”