Exclusive with France great Luis Fernandez: If we can slow down Messi, we're halfway there

Les Bleus showed an excellent performance on Wednesday evening against Morocco, where they thwarted the usual tactics of Regragui's Morocco. What did you think about the match?

"It's good to have reached the semi-finals and to be in the final now, it's a great performance. In spite of everything, Les Bleus were a bit dominated, but they were able to score. They put themselves in the shoes of a team that wanted to qualify. We must also pay tribute to Morocco, who were able to cause problems for the French team."

The French team was dominated at times, but wasn't it Didier Deschamps' plan to leave the ball to the Moroccans? "I don't think we play football to put the team on the counter, but it wasn't just that, there were duels to win. There was quality with the ball, in the passes and we were effective. When you see Giroud in Amrabat's zone, maybe yes, Didier Deschamps did let Morocco take the initiative. We were lucky that Harry Kane missed his second penalty in our match against England. It's a question of balance and imbalance. There were also changes due to the absence of Rabiot and Upamecano. We have a team that is moving forward with driving forces like Mbappé, Griezmann - whose performances since the start of the World Cup I really like - and Giroud is there too. We do with what we have and we do it well. We are happy to be in the final against Argentina."

Griezmann has been the star of Les Bleus since the beginning of the World Cup, he is a multi-tasker. What do you think about his performances?

"He is the best French player. He has taken the measure of being the technical leader, the organiser, the passer and he shows a great state of mind, because he makes the defensive efforts to help his teammates. He's flying over the competition. He has had difficult moments in the past, but he is coming back well, especially in this collective of the French team: he fulfils his mission perfectly well."

How do you see this final against Argentina, with Leo Messi in this kind of form? Are you optimistic? 

"We'll have to be very careful, because he's in exceptional form. He's magnificent, I've seen him since the start of the season with PSG, he's prepared well. He's arrived at the top of his form. He has a mission, because he wants to please the Argentinian people. Next to him, there is a collective, a state of mind, but if we manage to slow down Messi, to control him, we will have gone halfway to winning this World Cup. You mustn't underestimate his team-mates, but you have to be wary of Messi, you have to take him seriously, because when you see him playing with his team, it's a pleasure and a delight."

When you remember Argentina's third goal against Croatia, where Messi makes the difference on the right side against Gvardiol, the whole play is magnificent...

"It's not just the third goal, he's been effective since the start of the competition. Without Lionel Messi, Argentina would have already gone home. He makes the difference, he accelerates the play, especially with the ball at his foot. At the moment, he is confirming his good start to the season with PSG and he is in great shape."

Kylian Mbappe is the co-top scorer of the competition with 5 goals. Do you expect him to do well this Sunday? 

"He has to be much better than he was against Morocco. Even though he was close to scoring, and he played a part in both goals. He was maybe a little bit less good because of the marking, that was already seen against England. But he's there and he scares opponents. Four years after his first World Cup, he has matured and gained confidence to succeed in his second final as well."

In 24 years, Les Bleus will play their 4th World Cup final, which is quite exceptional. Is France the best footballing nation of the 21st century?

"It depends on how you look at it. I often hear that, but what I look at is that a lot of our French players play abroad. That was the case every time we won, both in 2018 and in 1998. That year, 80% of our players didn't play in Ligue 1. But that allows them to grow, to gain maturity and confidence and we see that today. After that, we can't say that the French league is the best, because French players improve in England, Spain, Germany and Italy. You can see that when they wear the national team shirt."