'Music starts with Messi'

Arsene Wenger has praised "leader of the orchestra" Lionel Messi as the Argentine great bids to inspire his team to glory in Sunday's World Cup final against defending champions France. The two football powerhouses go head to head at Doha's Lusail Stadium, each chasing a third global crown. But much of the pre-match focus has been on whether Paris Saint-Germain superstar Messi can cap his glittering career with the one major title that has so far eluded him.

Wenger, who is FIFA's football development chief, said the 35-year-old had rediscovered his ability to hurt teams with his change of pace in Qatar.

"The boss of the orchestra is Messi and the music starts when he has the ball," the former Arsenal boss told AFP. "But the rest of the orchestra is ready to work very hard.

"What is surprising for me in this tournament is that he has rediscovered that physical capacity to accelerate again at the right moment.

"He played a little bit last year at Paris Saint-Germain one-paced but he has mastered slow-quick again.

"He was never super quick but he was a master in change of direction and change of pace and he has found that again in this tournament.

"He attracts the opponent and suddenly he has that little burst that makes the difference."

Wenger, 73, said Messi was like a lion tamer when he was surrounded by defenders.

"I've seen him here in the middle of three players and he's like a guy with a lion in the circus," he said. "He tells the ball 'you listen to me, my friend, I'm the boss here'.

"And overall I would say that he has always had unbelievable quality for such a master of dribbling -- he knew always when to pass the ball and usually when players are very talented in dribbling they exaggerate a little bit."