Yorke: Messi Can Do a Maradona on England & End the GOAT Debate For Good

Speaking exclusively with BOYLE Sports , Manchester United legend Dwight Yorke has warned England that Lionel Messi will be feeling more inspired than ever before ahead of their semi-final clash this week.

The former Aston Villa star believes Argentina and Thomas Tuchel 's side look well-matched, but the genius of Messi could be the deciding factor, with the Inter Miami talisman set to follow his destiny and finally overtake the achievements of Diego Maradona this summer.

Yorke has also ranked the four remaining teams, explained why Kylian Mbappe will go down as the greatest World Cup player of all time, and delivered his verdict on the proposed expansion to 64 teams.

The Final Four

How Would You Rank the Four Teams Left?

France are the team that have impressed the most. They tick all the boxes and have been the outstanding performers so far. Spain have grown into the competition and look like a team that are building to their peak at the right time, so it's going to be a really interesting matchup. A team that is in form with France against a team that is coming into form with Spain , both hopefully playing free-flowing football, playing the way we expect Spain to play. They are both going to be tested to see who is the best team in the tournament at this point.

Argentina have started to huff and puff a bit, but they have managed every test that's been thrown at them, and they've come back into games when they've needed to, fighting back to get themselves into another semi-final at a World Cup . It's been quite remarkable, really.

In my opinion, England has not been at their best. They've really struggled at times, and they've not been as convincing as we would like to see, given how this England team can play. They have been a bit like Argentina in many respects. Not convincing, but having to dig extremely deep to find a different way to win. I haven't seen an England team tested like this and somehow manage to get through to a semi-final like this. When you look at the matchups between the four teams, they are similar in each semi-final. England and Argentina have had to go through similar challenges to get through to this stage.

France have been good from day one. I think the Paraguay game was important. When you watch that game and how they came through, it wasn't about the football. They were tested and came through it. They showed another side. It will be fascinating to see all the ways France can play against the other teams.

The fact that Messi has never played against England is incredible. We know the history between these two teams. We know the history between Argentina and England outside of football. Argentina usually seem to get the better of England on the pitch, so you'd think they will do a number on them again. I feel like that's how it will end up, to end England 's World Cup campaign, but you never know. It will be another fascinating matchup between the two teams.

The GOAT Debate

Would Another World Cup Elevate Messi?

Will this England game be the match where Lionel Messi ends the debate once and for all over who is the greatest? That's the conversation I've been having with everyone, and it's what we are all predicting.

We know what Diego Maradona did to England . If Messi is to score two goals, and one of them is another piece of magic against England , not the Hand of God again, but scoring in his own magical way, does that match Maradona ? I think so. I think he can score two magical goals. He's capable of doing that. It's funny how history repeats, isn't it, and I think it is coming full circle for England and Messi again.

I think it would be quite extraordinary, but Messi can do it, and he is a player who understands the history of these things and the game. This game has the making of it for Messi , and history tells us he will want to repeat that history, and if he does, I think it would elevate him again, especially if he goes on to win the World Cup . That would be two World Cups , one more than Maradona won, and I think that would put the debate to bed. It would be the only way to put this massive discussion to bed, and it would. Big time.

Mbappe

Is Mbappe the True Heir to Ronaldo and Messi?

I think Kylian

Mbappe will just come up short when it comes to matching Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as the greatest of all time, but I think he will go down as the greatest player in the history of the World Cup . There's a difference there. He may not be the greatest player of all time, but he will feature in the top five, definitely.

To be the all-time great, he would have to go and run into the latter stages of the Champions League every year and win it, win all the Ballon d'Or trophies, and he has to do all that in the next four years at least to be considered on the path to being the greatest of all time. But he has definitely lit up the World Cup with his dazzling feet and movement, and his creativity and intelligence too, which is quite extraordinary as well. When you looked at the original Ronaldo , the way he used to glide past defenders, Mbappe is doing that in abundance. He is really exciting to watch. He's lived up to what we know he is capable of doing and done it in such an impressive way on the biggest stage, which is nothing short of remarkable.

It's the consistency he's shown at this World Cup . He's not had a bad game. Every game, it's like he's getting better, getting stronger. He's terrifying for defenders. He's definitely been the player of the tournament so far, and I don't think he'll feel like he's finished if he goes on and wins the World Cup this time. He's the man that will want to win the World Cup again and again, without a doubt.

World Cup Expansion

Could Expanding the World Cup to 64 Teams Make Sense?

There was a question mark about going from 32 teams at a World Cup to 48, and there was a huge debate about it, and we didn't know how this was going to turn out. You would hope that they will give it a proper assessment after this World Cup , but we've seen the likes of South Africa and Cabo Verde getting further into the competition, and it really has been an opportunity for these teams. It has definitely improved the World Cup in that sense. It's just the length of time and how much football has to be played over the course of such a big tournament.

Does it hurt the actual quality of the competition? That's the question mark for me over going up again to 64 teams. Yes, you want other countries to experience what it's like being on the world stage. We all loved the story of Cabo Verde , and everyone could take something from seeing Curacao in the World Cup from my part of the world, making it into the tournament for the first time in their history. It's good for people to engage with different teams, showing different cultures, because football is global, but you've got to be careful. We can't keep expanding it. We go from 32 to 48 and now 64. They'll want to invite 100 teams next time round.

There must be a cutoff point. There was a question mark over 48, but it seems to work. It's still a very long competition with five and a half weeks of football, after which you go straight back into the Premier League and a new season. There's hardly any recovery for the players, and you have to take player welfare into consideration. The deeper you go into the competition, the more difficult it is, the less recovery time for the big players, and those are the other question marks for me. I think 48 teams is the limit for me because of the workload on the players after seeing how this summer has gone.

I'm a bit old school. For me, the World Cup has to be the most elite competition in the sport. I was reluctant to see it expanded to 48 teams, but that just about seems to work. I don't think 64 would be wise, but if there's enough money to go round, people will go with it. They say we need to expand the World Cup so that FIFA can grow the game, but I think we've grown the game enough. We can't lose the X-factor of the World Cup . That's what would be at risk if we make it any larger than it already is.

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