Former France star Emmanuel Petit says sex is better than winning the World Cup

Former France star Emmanuel Petit has said he sex is better than scoring in a World Cup final.

Back in 1998 Petit was part of the France side that won the World Cup for the first time on home soil.

Les Bleus beat Brazil 3-0 in the final at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, with Petit scoring the third and final goal to wrap up the triumph.

For many winning the World Cup is the pinnacle of a football career and life on the whole, but Petit joked that the act of reproduction gives a better feeling.

"Well, we’re not supposed to play football when we’re put on this Earth, but we are supposed to reproduce so," he added with a laugh.

"I try to find the same feeling of scoring in a World Cup final in my private life, and to be honest when my daughters were born I felt the same thing. I was in the right place, I was proud of it: like I did something good.

"Something you can remember and be proud of. And scoring in a World Cup, especially a final, the last goal of the game in front of your own fans and family - it changes your life forever!"

France, managed by Didier Deschamps, are the holders once again going into Qatar after going all the way in Russia in 2018, besting Croatia 4-2.

Petit spent time in England with both Arsenal and Chelsea, winning the Premier League and FA Cup with the former.

"I am pretty sure that England will be very difficult to beat," he told SPORTbible.

"But I am also pretty sure they will fail at the end of the day.

"It is always the same story with England. You always put them as contenders, but they always miss something in the end."