Lionel Messi names his favourites for the World Cup, says England are ‘a little above the rest’

Lionel Messi has named three nations that he feels can win the World Cup as he looks to fire Argentina to glory in Qatar.

The Paris Saint Germain superstar is gearing up for his last World Cup and is looking for a fairytale ending, however, there will be tough competition as 32 nations have their eyes on the trophy.

Argentina are amongst the favourites to lift the cup in Qatar and Messi will hope his country can add a first World Cup triumph since 1986.

Speaking ahead of the tournament, Messi has said that England, along with France and rivals Brazil are ‘a little above the rest.’

He told the South American Federation CONMEBOL: “Whenever we talk about candidates, we always talk about the same teams.

“If I have to put some above others I think Brazil, France and England are a little bit above the rest.

“But the World Cup is so difficult and so complicated that anything can happen.”

Messi also expressed his excitement ahead of his side’s first match against Saudi Arabia.

The 35-year-old added: “We are very excited. We have a very nice group that is very eager, but we think about going little by little.

“We hope to start the World Cup in the best way to face everything that comes after.

“The more you play and the more time you spend on the pitch, the more you get to know each other.”

Argentina were in action on Wednesday as they played a pre-tournament friendly against the United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi, Messi started and scored one of five goals scored by his side. Julian Alvarez, Angel Di Maria and Joaquin Correa were also on the score sheet as they came out 5-0 winners. The perfect preparation ahead of the World Cup.

If Argentina and England both win their respective groups, they will only be able to meet in the final. If Argentina get to the final, it will be Messi’s 1000th game of his stellar career.

The script is written for Messi to win the biggest trophy in world football in his thousandth game, can he do it? Only time will tell.