Patrice Evra Exclusive Interview - July Insights on Stake

We recently caught up with Manchester United legend and Stake Ambassador Patrice Evra to talk all things 2026 Cup! Discover Uncle Pat's exclusive takes on why this is the best French team he's ever seen, whether anyone can stop Mbappé and co, the Dembélé vs Mbappé Ballon d'Or race, France's path to a second Cup in three tournaments, and what it would mean if Messi lifts the trophy again.

France have had an amazing tournament and their attack is comfortably the best in the tournament, who can stop Kylian Mbappe and co? Is there anyone?

Personally, it would be tough to stop France. In football, you know, everything can happen, but they look really scary to me. Like I said, it's the best French team I've ever seen in my life, we can talk about '98, 2018, my generation, I've never seen a team be a favourite for a tournament and be so strong and so scary. We're talking about Kylian, I feel he's so mature for this World Cup, and he's finally putting the team in front of himself. Then you have Olise, the magician, there are so many players I can mention.

Spain have not conceded a single goal in the entire tournament, how much of a worry will this be for Didier Deschamps?

I know Didier, he will tell them that, but you know, when you've got those strikers up front, any defence can concede a goal. So I'm not sure Deschamps is worried about that; he's a defensive-minded player himself, he played as a midfielder, so he'll be more focused on not conceding, because they also have real strength up front.

Do you feel there's a level of complacency that can arise when a team is so strong and full of talent? Should France be wary of this as they've entered the final four?

No, I mean, you can see this team every single game. I saw more experience against Paraguay: they could have lost control of their minds, someone could have been sent off, but no, like I said, they're young but they are mature. I maybe had some worry at the beginning of the tournament, but I have no worry at all now.

It seems an impossible question, but if you had to pick a weakness or one area to improve, where would that be?

At the beginning of some games, the defence wasn't, I would say, looking secure every time. Now, people forget that Deschamps made a change at left-back, and he doesn't get enough credit for it, even in my time, that position was always the second choice, but now I feel he trusts him even more than Theo, so the defence is also safe now.

Would you like to see any changes in personnel for the last two games or is the starting 11 picked itself now?

Yeah, I don't change anything, and Deschamps won't change anything either. That's a short answer.

If France overcomes Spain, is there a team you'd rather face in the final out of Switzerland/Argentina or Norway/England? And who would you like to face the least?

It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter, to be honest. Argentina would be great for us, it would be a revenge, but be careful of England: France v England is always tough. So I hope England get to the final instead.

If France go all the way, and win a second Cup in three tournaments, would they be comparable to the legendary Brazilian team that won in 1994 and 2002?

France now is the new Brazil, you find all that new talent, it's scary, because even on the bench, what we've got, and for the next generation we've got too many talents. But yes, France has already become the new Brazil.

A lot of fans say Kylian Mbappe's club career has been underwhelming because of the amount of talent he has. Do you think his performances for France should be respected on the same level as club football?

It's two different things, you can perform for the club and not for the national team, or the opposite. But when people say Kylian is not performing, they're not talking about him not scoring goals, he's scoring goals like crazy. What people want now is for him to win trophies with his club. He's won a lot with PSG, but people just expect him to win the Champions League, and I'm sure that is his goal, and also the Ballon d'Or. When people say he's not performing for his club, what they mean is the team he's playing for isn't winning the Champions League, like when he left PSG, PSG won the Champions League. So now people are just waiting for him to win the Champions League with Real Madrid.

How strong of a Ballon d'Or contender will Ousmane Dembele be if France win the Cup? Will he become the favourite having won the Champions League earlier this year?

For me, it's another World Cup for Kylian Mbappé, and it would be another Ballon d'Or for Dembélé; he'd have done the back-to-back. He's already done it with his club. For me, he'd be my favourite without any question. But I think what Mbappé is proving is that, if he wins, people will forget what kind of season it was with Real Madrid. But for sure, from the beginning, I want the back-to-back for Dembélé too.

If Lionel Messi does win the Cup with Argentina, he's guaranteed the best of all time, isn't he?

It depends. For me, the best of all time is Maradona, everyone has their own opinion. But for sure, the world will react heavily if Messi wins two World Cups with Argentina. What he's doing is just amazing in this tournament, he's missing some penalties like any normal player, then afterwards he'll score one or two goals and look like an alien. So, I wish him well, but I don't want him to win, because I want France to win. Of course the debate will keep going and going, everyone compares him with Cristiano, everyone has a different opinion, and we need to respect that. Right now I'm just enjoying watching him play at that level in the World Cup, and like I said, I wish him well, but not to win the trophy.