Christian Vieri: France Has No Competition, Messi Is in a Different League

Former Italy international Christian Vieri believes France boasts the most complete squad among the contenders for the North American World Cup, tipping them and reigning champions Argentina as the favorites to lift the trophy.

According to Vieri, only two current players from the Italian national team are good enough to earn a starting spot in Didier Deschamps' French squad: Gianluigi Donnarumma and Sandro Tonali.

"France has no competition. They are simply too strong," commented the 52-year-old Christian Vieri in an interview with "Gazzetta dello Sport."

"I'm looking at France and Argentina, because Lionel Messi defies all logic. He's like Harry Potter – he's still working magic even at 39. He's in a different league, there's no comparison to the others. He, Kylian Mbappé, and Erling Haaland will be competing for the Golden Boot. I'd also say to keep an eye on Norway, alongside Brazil. For me, they are almost among the favorites," the former striker stated.

"As for the all-time top scorer ranking, there's no competition there. Mbappé is younger; he'll score another 6 or 7 goals at the next World Cup and leave everyone else behind," he added.