Emmanuel Petit thinks Brazil will win this year's World Cup in Qatar
The former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder, who scored in the 1998 World Cup final, also thinks France and England will fail to go the distance due to their injury lists. The defending champions are without Presnel Kimpembe, Paul Pogba, N'Golo Kante and Christopher Nkunku, while England are missing Ben Chilwell, Reece James and Emile Smith Rowe.
Petit is backing Brazil to end their 20-year wait for a sixth World Cup triumph and believes the South American teams will have the edge over their European rivals. Argentina and Lionel Messi are also among the pre-tournament favourites.
"I think Brazil are going to win," Petit tells Mirror Football, courtesy of LiveScore. "The last time a South American team won the World Cup was more than 20 years ago in 2002 when Brazil won in Asia. The balance is in the European countries now.
"And if you look at the squad Brazil have, they have a bunch of experienced players who've played so many big games. On top of that, you have the leader Neymar who is completely different this season with Paris Saint-Germain [scored 15 goals and provided 12 assists].
"This is probably his last chance to win the Golden Ball [Ballon d'Or] and the World Cup. And because of everything that happened with Paris Saint-Germain last summer - the speculation, a lot of people wanted him to leave the club, he was not part of the future of Paris Saint-Germain anymore - he came back during the summer with anger.
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"He was starved of success; his ego was touched. He wanted to show to the rest of the world that he's still Neymar - one of the best, probably the best in terms of quality and technical skills.
"It's the same for Messi. It's the last chance for him to win the World Cup with Argentina. I think it's time for a South American team [to win] and all the teams to show some respect."
As to why France and England won’t be successful, Petit explains, "England are like France. We have quality players; a quality team and we all know that we will be competing until the end. We have a chance to win the World Cup, but we have the same problems - too many important players missing for England in the defence.
"I spoke with one of your colleagues before. I said to him, 'Can you name me the defence that will be for England. Is [Harry] Maguire going to play? Who is going to play at right-back? Is he [Southgate] going to play with three defenders or four?' Do you have the answer to these questions? I don't have the answers.
"It's the same with us [France]. I saw the list yesterday and we have only six midfield players. Football games, most of the time, you want it in the midfield. The fact that we are missing Pogba and Kante, that's 75 per cent of our midfield area. That reminds me of what happened in 2002 when we lost [Zinedine] Zidane and Robert Pires before the World Cup.
"We have so many troubles surrounding players - [injury doubt Raphael] Varane is one of them as well. This is the spine of the team we are talking about. We have a chance, but I think this is not the best period for Didier Deschamps and his players to win the World Cup.
"We have so many troubles inside the team and outside the team as well, surrounding the French Federation. Too much politics. Historically, French sportsmen are better when they're against the world - when they're feeling the pressure - but I think we have too many problems... it will be a big achievement for a European team to win twice in-a-row."
Emmanuel Petit is supporting LiveScore's Fear of Missing Scores campaign. If you're unable to watch the World Cup live, download the LiveScore app for real-time updates. You can download the app here: livescore.com/en/mobile
"I’ve had the privilege of playing in some huge games during my career and I even achieved every footballer’s dream of scoring for my country during a World Cup final,” says Petit. “I’ve been part of moments in football history that fans wish they could have experienced or maybe relive again, which is why I’m proud to be part of LiveScore’s FOMS campaign."
