Wayne Rooney picks Argentina to win the World Cup

Wayne Rooney has tipped Argentina to win the World Cup in Qatar and says Lionel Messi is the best player he has ever seen.

Argentina are in a group with Mexico, Poland and Saudi Arabia, and could face Denmark or France in the round of 16 after progressing through the group.

They won the Copa America last year, but have not lifted the World Cup since 1986, losing the final in 2014 to Germany.

In an interview with The Times, Rooney said: "For me, Argentina are the favourites. Unlike in 2018, they have plenty of good, solid players around Lionel Messi such as Lautaro Martínez, Leandro Paredes, Rodrigo De Paul and of course Ángel Di María."

"Winning the Copa America last year will have given them confidence and has taken a bit of pressure off them. The climate will suit them too.

"The only thing they are missing is a No 9, that focal point in attack, but I think they will be really dangerous."

Rooney said it would be a great story for football if either Messi or Ronaldo won the World Cup, but he backs Messi as the best – even though the two never played on the same team and he shared five years together with Cristiano Ronaldo under Sir Alex Ferguson's tutelage at Manchester United.

"Everyone has different views on Messi and Ronaldo but I have said many times that I think Messi is the best. I have watched lots of videos of Diego Maradona, who was a similar player, but Messi is better.

"He has everything – the way he controls games, his dribbling, his assists – whereas Ronaldo is more of a goalscorer."

"I have heard some of the Argentine players saying that they want to win it for Messi. That’s crazy – and might only increase the pressure on them."