Desailly wants France-Brazil World Cup final, tips Neymar to shine

Marcel Desailly wants to see France and Brazil face off in the World Cup final, 20 years after he lifted the trophy in the same fixture in Paris.

Desailly was sent off during the final of the 1998 tournament but still celebrated a 3-0 victory over the reigning champions, which earned France a first World Cup triumph.

The two sides are, along with Germany and Spain, among the favourites to win this year’s edition in Russia, and Desailly believes a repeat final would be a fitting way to mark the anniversary.

Asked for his World Cup favourites, Desailly – speaking courtesy of Hublot – told Omnisport: “Besides France, I’ll say Brazil. And why not a France v Brazil final? To mark the 20th anniversary of our victory. That would be kind of great.

“I [also] have strong faith in Argentina, even if they struggled to qualify. Sometimes the countries that have team issues get a wake-up call. I really think Argentina can do something.

“Not because of [Lionel] Messi, but because I think the whole team can prove something.”

But Desailly, who won 116 caps, tipped Brazil’s Neymar to be the tournament’s standout player, if the Paris Saint-Germain forward can recover from a broken metatarsal.

“I’d like Neymar to be the one, if he can recover well and play consecutive games,” he added.

“We know all the big names. We have two guys from another planet, with Portugal’s [Cristiano] Ronaldo and Argentina’s Messi.

“It’s tricky to find anyone else emerging. We’d love to see [Antoine] Griezmann play really well.”

Didier Deschamps’ side are in Group C in Russia along with Australia, Peru and Denmark, while Brazil face Switzerland, Costa Rica and Serbia in Group E.