‘I really hope Rapha brings success to France again’

The centre-back is set to go head-to-head with his Reds team-mate Lisandro Martinez to lift the trophy, with both players having reached the climax of the historic tournament in Qatar.

Ahead of this eye-catching encounter, the head of our French supporters’ club, Geoffroy Fisher, spoke to our media team about how Reds fans in France are feeling ahead of their nation’s second consecutive World Cup final.

“The stress has started to build,” he said. “The final will be a huge game.

“I really think it’s going to be a tough one, even though I believe Argentina are not as good as the media think they are. For me, their run has been quite easy, I would say.

“In my opinion, Morocco are better than Argentina, so I really think France are going to win the final 3-1.”

Varane has been a mainstay of Didier Deschamps’s defence since returning from injury to start the second group-stage match against Denmark.

Following the centre-back’s recovery, Geoffroy believes Rapha is now on the brink of cementing himself among the very best to ever play the game.

“I think Rapha Varane has been rock solid for France’s team in this World Cup,” he said. “He’s been an integral part of the success of the team, [and] now he’s reached the final.

“He’s really rock solid for United as well, but right now the possibility of him winning a second World Cup and having four Champions Leagues and hopefully a Premier League very soon makes him one of the best defenders in history, probably.

“I’m really proud that he’s a United player and he’s playing in the World Cup final for a second time. I really hope he brings success to France again.”

The World Cup final is going to have a bearing for two Reds, one way or the other, with Varane and Martinez in separate camps going into it.

Geoffroy believes that Varane will not be as phased by the occasion, after his triumph in Russia in 2018, indicating that it could galvanise the defender further ahead of his return to United.

“It will have a big impact, because he’s been a world champion already, he’s won the trophy,” he said. “If he doesn’t win it, he’ll be disappointed, but obviously not as if it was his first time to win the trophy.

“I do think that if he wins the World Cup, the impact on the rest of the season will be huge but I’m also thinking about Lisandro Martinez because he’ll be on the losing side if Varane wins, which means that either one of two United players will be disappointed and the other one will be happy.

“So hopefully there will be no impact [on United’s season]. For me the most important is that he [Varane] keeps away from any injuries.”

Varane and Martinez are set to lock horns at the Lusail Stadium on Sunday 18 December, with kick-off scheduled for 15:00 GMT.

Remember, you can follow the action on our dedicated World Cup blog on ManUtd.com, or in the United App.