'Big teams, big players, the biggest game' - Clement on Hugo, Cuti, Messi and the World Cup Final
Fri 16 December 2022, 15:15|
Tottenham Hotspur
Clement Lenglet has friends and a team-mate in the Argentina camp, but his loyalties lay in one place ahead of the World Cup Final.
A France international with 15 caps, Clement is good friends with a number of the France squad and, of course, team-mates with Les Bleus skipper Hugo Lloris. However, his defensive partner Cuti Romero is also set to step out in the biggest showpiece in world football in Qatar on Sunday, and, not forgetting, he also spent three years playing alongside Lionel Messi at Barcelona.
It feels like there’s no-one better placed to preview Sunday’s final at Lusail Stadium.
It will be interesting - big teams, big players, playing the biggest game... it's a big final - hopefully, with a good result for France
He’s being pulled all ways... “Yes, but I’m French, so I want to see France win the World Cup,” he told us at Hotspur Way. “I have a lot of friends in the squad, I know a lot of players there. Of course, I also have friends in the Argentina team but, when you are French, you hope all the best for your team-mates.
“They are only one step away from winning two World Cups in a row. That's not easy. You have to go back a long time (it’s only been done twice - Italy in 1934/38; Brazil in 1958/62) to see when it last happened. For this reason, I hope France will be the winner, but it will be a very difficult game. Argentina are a good, aggressive team, with a magician in Leo.”
Clement joined Barca from Sevilla in 2018 and played with Messi for three years, when the maestro moved on to PSG in 2021. Clement joined us on loan from the Nou Camp in July. He was happy to give us some of that inside knowledge of Argentina’s talisman.
“Leo is different, totally different,” he said. “Just when you think he’s under control, he always finds the solutions, so you always have to be focussed if you want to win the game. He’s showing at the World Cup that he’s one of the best, or the best player in the world. Of course, when you have this kind of player, he can make the difference in any moment of any game.”
Meanwhile, Cuti has to deal with France’s feared front four - Mbappe, Griezmann, Dembele and Giroud. “Yes, big duels for Cuti!” added Clement. “He’s strong, he’s smart. I’m very happy to watch how this game plays. It will be a very good game, I’m sure. A big final. Hopefully, with a good result for France.”
With so much invested in the final, where was Clement going to watch it? “I will watch at home with my family. I will watch the game not like a fan, but more as a professional, and try to understand the game and why the players do this, why they don’t do this... it will be interesting - big teams, big players, playing in the biggest game.”
