Six star players to watch at the FIFA World Cup

The 2022 World Cup gets underway in three weeks' time in Qatar, with France hoping to become the first team to successfully defend the title since Brazil 60 years ago.

AFP Sport takes a look at six of the world's best players who will be competing in the tournament:

Lionel Messi (ARG)

Arguably the greatest player of all time, Messi has yet to emulate past legends Pele and Diego Maradona by winning football's biggest prize. He did finally win a major international tournament with Argentina when he was the driving force behind their Copa America triumph last year. The 35-year-old has said this will "very likely" be his last World Cup and will be desperate to go one better than 2014, when Argentina lost the final to Germany in extra time. Lionel Scaloni's side have high hopes of winning a third world title, heading into the tournament on a 35-match unbeaten run.

Cristiano Ronaldo (POR)

Messi's long-time rival for the status of world's best player, Ronaldo will also surely be appearing at a World Cup for the final time, aged 37. International football's all-time record scorer recently netted the 700th club goal of his career. Ronaldo won an emotional title at Euro 2016 with Portugal but their best effort with him on a global stage remains a semi-final exit in 2006. He will be expecting to score in a record-breaking fifth straight World Cup, surpassing Pele, Miroslav Klose and Uwe Seeler.

Kylian Mbappe (FRA)

His France teammate Karim Benzema is the current Ballon d'Or holder but the world champions' most important player remains Mbappe, more than four years since he starred at the 2018 World Cup. The Paris Saint-Germain forward became the first teenager to score in a World Cup final since Pele with his strike in France's 4-2 victory