The World Cup quarter-finals are set, with eight teams left to battle for football’s grandest prize. France, the defending champions, face a formidable array of talent as Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland each loom as potential disruptors to their title bid.
Guardian writers were asked who they would trust with a match-winning chance in a final — Messi, Mbappé, Harry Kane or Haaland. Messi emerged as the overwhelming favourite, with one writer noting: “As he proved in thrilling style against Egypt, Argentina’s No 10 still has magic in his boots even at the age of 39.” Despite a penalty record of four from eight attempts, “he is clinical when it matters most.” Another added: “A sense of inevitability has been attached to him through Argentina’s first five games at this tournament – he’s scored in all of them.”
“Eight teams remain in the World Cup as France face threats from Messi, Mbappé and Haaland in the quarter-finals.”
But Haaland’s statistics are devastating: averaging a goal every 14 touches and converting 38.9% of his shots – the best of any player with at least 10 shots. “If you want the best chance of getting the ball in the net, bang the drum and start rowing,” one writer said of the Norwegian.
Mbappé, meanwhile, offers a youthful edge. “Both he and Messi feel uniquely unsolvable and can bend games to their will,” a writer argued. “But I’ll take the younger man in the eighth game of a six-week slog.”
Argentina’s run, powered by Messi, has a “transcendental quality” where his mere presence inspires teammates to career-best performances. Even at 39, he can decide a match in an instant, as he did against Egypt with a splendid half-volley.
France remain the team to beat, but host nations Japan, the Netherlands and Brazil were all eliminated in the last 16 – Japan giving Brazil a scare before bowing out. With three of the world’s deadliest attackers still standing, the path to the final is fraught with danger.