Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has singled out defender Lisandro Martinez as the player from the Red Devils squad most likely to win the World Cup.
Martinez was called up by Lionel Scaloni for the World Cup, with the player likely to be a mainstay in the backline.
In Argentina’s recent friendly against the UAE, Martinez played the full 90 minutes as the Albiceleste strode to a thumping 5-0 win.
Rooney wrote in his column for The Times, “For me, Argentina are the favourites. Unlike in 2018, they have plenty of good, solid players around Lionel Messi. Winning the Copa America last year will have given them confidence and has taken a bit of pressure off them.”
“I really like Lisandro Martínez. Watching him for Manchester United recently, he is really composed and aggressive. He is perfect for international football and will be a big player for them.”
Rooney took the time in his column to laud Messi, who he labelled the greatest player of all time, even ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo and Diego Maradona.
On what makes Messi better, Rooney wrote, “He has everything — the way he controls games, his dribbling, his assists — whereas Ronaldo is more of a goalscorer.”
Despite saying Messi is a better player, however, Rooney tipped Ronaldo to be in the race for the World Cup Golden Boot with his Argentine arch-nemesis.
As per the Englishman, the other favourites for the World Cup are Brazil, France and Germany. He put down Brazil’s chances to their potent forward line that consists of the likes of Neymar, Vinicius Jr and Arsenal’s Gabriel Jesus.
He dismissed talks that France could not win it due to the absences of Paul Pogba and Ngolo Kante. He backed Real Madrid duo Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga to recreate the magic once brought to the table by Pogba and Kante.
United’s record-goalscorer backed Harry Maguire and Marcus Rashford to have a big say in England’s Qatar prospects.
On the difference between Maguire’s performances for England and for United, the 37-year-old remarked that the defender is solidly protected by a defensive midfielder when featuring for the Three Lions, something that has been lacking at Old Trafford before Casemiro’s arrival.
