England attacker Jack Grealish has hailed Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe’s displays at the World Cup but named Brazil as the standout team in Qatar.
Of the 24 national teams who have played two group matches, only World Cup holders France have taken full points.
Didier Deschamps’ side kick-started their 2022 season with a thumping 4-1 victory over Australia and then beat Denmark thanks to Mbappe’s brilliant brace.
In Russia four years ago, Mbappe became France’s youngest scorer in the competition at the age of 19, and his brace against Denmark took him to 31 internationals goals already, just 20 behind Olivier Giroud and Thierry Henry’s 51-goal mark.
Argentina, meanwhile, suffered a defeat to Saudi Arabia in their opening match and knew defeat to Mexico on Saturday would have seen them crash out of the competition.
After a cagey first hour at the Lusail Stadium, Messi produced another moment of magic to break the deadlock and set Argentina on their way to a very important win.
Grealish has described Messi as ‘unbelievable’ after his heroics against Mexico but the Man City star still views Argentina’s South American rivals Brazil as the favourites in Qatar.
Brazil will look to make it two wins from two games when they face Switzerland on Monday, having beaten Serbia last time out.
Asked to assess some of England’s biggest rivals in Qatar, Grealish told talkSPORT: ‘I watch all the games to be honest. We have screens all over the place at the hotel and it’s just nice to have games on all day.
‘I was watching Messi [against Mexico], unbelievable. He just showed what he’s about in that second half but then again so did Mbappe.
‘I think there are lots of brilliant teams, some teams have that one player who’s just unstoppable but I think Brazil are one of the most impressive I’ve seen so far.
‘They have so much talent, especially in those attacking areas. If you’re asking me who the biggest threat is, I’d probably say Brazil.’
