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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Sport
Ed Aarons, Ella Brockway, Beau Dure, Bryan Armen Graham, Jeff Rueter, Leander Schaerlaeckens and Jonathan Wilson

World Cup quarter-final (and beyond) predictions: will anyone derail France’s title bid?

Granit Xhaka and Breel Embolo of Switzerland celebrate, Lamine Yamal of Spain, France's Kylian Mbappe, Leandro Trossard of Belgium, Norway's Erling Braut scores against Brazil, Lionel Messi of Argentina, Morocco's Soufiane Rahimi and Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham of England.
The stage is set for the World Cup quarter-finals. Composite: AFP, AP, EPA, Getty Images, Reuters and Shutterstock/Guardian Design

It’s 1-1 in the 90th minute of the World Cup final and a chance falls to your star player. Who would you rather have on the end of it: Haaland, Mbappé, Kane or Messi?

Lionel Messi. As he proved in thrilling style against Egypt, Argentina’s No 10 still has magic in his boots even at the age of 39. While his penalty record of four from eight attempts is much worse than you’d expect, he is clinical when it matters most. EA

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