Calcutta: Striker Louis Saha, a 2006 World Cupper who played for France between 2004-2012, spoke to The Telegraph from Mumbai on Saturday evening.

Saha has been a panellist with broadcaster Sony during their coverage of the Fifa World Cup.

For audiences in India, Sony's telecast has covered four regional languages besides, of course, English and Hindi.

Born in Paris 39 years ago, Saha is a resident of one of the most envied of places - Cannes.

Excerpts...

Q Being a Frenchman you'd like France to regain the World Cup but, keeping aside the emotions, will Hugo Lloris's men start as favourites?

A France are the favourites. They have had more control and more flow right through this World Cup. Owing to their tactical awareness I expect them to be fully responsive to any challenge from Croatia... That Luka Modric's team has already been involved in three 120-minute matches could be a factor if the final goes down to the wire.

Q Besides winning the World Cup in 1998, France made the final in 2006. To what extent could the experience of real big matches be a factor - especially as it's a first for Croatia?

A Not exactly a factor... You need to have the confidence to win. Any team in this position would be confident, so Croatia have a chance. However, it's one thing to get to a final, quite another to win it.

Q At the start of this World Cup, did you expect France and Croatia to come face-to-face on July 15?

A France, for sure. It's a good team and has good balance, which is a key requirement in any World Cup. Croatia too had two strong matches to start with, proving their quality. Yes, sometimes they have lost concentration, but have had the ability to launch crucial comebacks as well. A combination of factors comes into play if you have to win a tournament. Which is why, overall, France are the favourites.

Q France's No. 1 strength?

A In my book, you need to have a strong core: Solid goalkeeper (Lloris), great defence and the ability to score... You need to have game-changers. All the elements I have mentioned are crucial and France have really strong players in the three departments.

Q What stands out when you assess Croatia?

A Pretty much the same things. Croatia's goalkeeper (Danijel Subasic) has made tremendous saves, they have a strong defence led by Domagoj Vida and Dejan Lovren. Yes, they have conceded, but have also gone through some very difficult matches. Bottom line is that they have a defence which can control the game. Croatia's strength is their core and the fact that they don't believe in a one-man show.

Q Weaknesses noticed in both finalists...

A France's manager Didier Deschamps sometimes has a desire to play over-attacking football. He has probably the most exciting player in the world now, Kylian Mbappe. He tries to be too unique when he asks him to play a bit deeper. Maybe, sometimes, he doesn't let the quality of the wingers be expressed. So, Antoine Griezmann and Mbappe find themselves with a lot of work to do. Indeed, they then have to sacrifice some of their flair for the duty they have to perform. Maybe, Mbappe is at the level of Neymar... But, the system in which France are playing now, may not be ideal... To talk of Croatia, when their wingers operate wide and make long runs, they open up and their defence gets exposed. They will have to do a lot of work to contain France. My belief is that Croatia's manager, Zlatko Dalic, is a bit defensive minded.

Q Would you like France to be more aggressive on Sunday?

A I want them to win, that's it. I'm not in the dressing room and, so, I don't have access to all the information in the sense that I don't know better than Deschamps. No matter what France or Croatia talk, one of them still has to win this World Cup.

Q Key man each for France and Croatia...

A Could be Paul Pogba for France. It will be great if he is on song and dominates the midfield... For Croatia, Modric's form is very important as he holds the ball and creates chances. Croatia may struggle to live up to their quality of football if Modric is neutralised.

Q What makes the difference in a World Cup final - skill, temperament or a certain X factor?

A It's always a combination... Teams which have won the World Cup have been the consistent ones. Consistency allows strikers to perform... After all, to win a tournament, you need one goal (more). Nowadays, every team is physically at the same level. Tactically too teams are pretty much on a par. You have to perform on the Big Day, do something that makes a difference. That's what made Zinedine Zidane special and that's what is special about Cristiano Ronaldo... Give Mbappe the ideal platform and then, believe me, he will be unstoppable.

Q Basically, then, Mbappe must have the absolute freedom to play his natural game...

A Of course. When you have instances of players having to cover for others, you notice their workload increases. To give an example... In Brazil's first two matches in this World Cup, Philippe Coutinho had to run back a bit more, something he wasn't doing when playing for FC Barcelona... Mbappe too has to defend or drop back a bit. As a result, he is sometimes less mobile or flexible.

Q Is Ronaldo the benchmark for strikers?

A Yes... Ronaldo is tremendously athletic, which is almost unreal. His mentality is to work hard... The ferocity with which Ronaldo operates cannot be matched by anybody... Zidane, Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta were/are different. Messi is a mix of a striker and midfielder and Argentina struggled because he lacked the brain of someone like Iniesta.

Q So, is it the end of the road for Messi?

A Absolutely not. This World Cup showed that there are some players capable of doing everything, while others need ammunition by way of help from teammates.

Q Clearly, Messi requires a steady supply of ammunition...

A This World Cup showed a bit more why we say Messi and Ronaldo are different players. One is the best striker who can pretty much score on his own - Ronaldo. Messi, on the other hand, needs five or six tremendous players around him, or else, he struggles.

Q The final one... In my part of the world, many have 'Saha' as their family name. Did your ancestors have any connection with Bengal?

A (Laughs) I'll need to do a DNA test. It could turn out that I'm half Indian or half Sinhalese!