By Gabriel Araujo
SAO PAULO, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Former Spain defender Gerard Pique believes France may be the team to beat at this year's World Cup but he is curious to see whether co-hosts the United States can sustain the surge of interest around the sport once the event ends.
Speaking to Reuters ahead of the tournament running from June 11 to July 19 in the U.S., Mexico and Canada, the 2010 world champion noted there is "big hype" around soccer - a level of attention he hopes will last in the world's
largest economy.
"It will be interesting to see the level of hype in the country and that doesn't happen like what happened in 1994, that after the World Cup soccer disappeared in the U.S.," he said, referring to the first time the event was held in the country.
"Hopefully, it stays," added the 38-year-old.
The 1994 World Cup preceded a jump in the sport's popularity across the U.S., with Major League Soccer launching two years later, but soccer remains far from dominant there despite the likes of Pele, David Beckham and now Lionel Messi having played in the country.
Pique himself is set to launch in the U.S. this year the Kings League, a seven-a-side version of the sport he created in 2022, blending soccer with video game-style rules, amid a global expansion that has included Germany, France, Brazil and Mexico.
FRANCE FAVOURITES?
Pique named France as leading contenders to win this year's World Cup, citing their back-to-back final appearances and pool of top talent, but did not rule out other heavyweights such as Argentina, Brazil and his own country as strong candidates.
"France are the favourites, I think. They arrived at the last two World Cup finals, they won one and lost the other one. In terms of names, I think they have the best talent. But then you need to be a team, and here is where I think Spain have a great team," he said.
Spain's hopes will hinge on form, health and timing, Pique added. "And then to have a little bit of luck in a competition that is so short that if you lose a game, you are out."
PRAISE FOR BARCELONA
Pique cheered on Barcelona's recent Super Cup victory over Real Madrid, which resulted in coach Xabi Alonso leaving the Madrid side by mutual agreement, and said the rivalry's swings of dominance were part of a natural cycle.
"I'm happy to see Barcelona winning titles and Madrid suffering," he said of the reigning Spanish champions.
"You see so many times one team dominating and then the other team suffering, and the other way around. It's just a matter of enjoying the moment. I think that Barcelona have a very good team, a very young team that wants to win."
Hansi Flick's Barca side are top of LaLiga, four points ahead of Real Madrid at the halfway point of the season.
(Reporting by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Ken Ferris)
