A mural depicting Argentine football stars Lionel Messi (left) and late Diego Maradona in Buenos Aires. AFP
Lionel Messi is relishing his ultimate World Cup run with eyes set on the elusive trophy ahead of today’s final against France, Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez said yesterday.
La Albiceleste face the defending champions, who are favourites to lift the trophy at Lusail Stadium tonight but the goalkeeper warned ‘greatest-ever’ Messi will give his side advantage against the Les Bleus.
Martinez recalled Argentina’s 2021 Copa America’s triumph when they shocked favourites Brazil in the final, saying the Lionel Scaloni’s side will draw confidence from that memorable win when they meet France in the final.
He said Messi was outstanding in the tournament and the 35-year-old has taken his performance to a new level in Qatar.
“Brazil were the favourites when we played them and this time it might be France. We have the advantage that we have the best player in the world,” Martinez told reporters yesterday.
“I saw a great Messi in the Copa America, an exceptional player, one of the best,” Martinez said.
“And in this World Cup he took a step forward compared to the Copa America.”
The Argentina captain has scored five goals and his three assists give him the edge over Frenchman Kylian Mbappe (five goals and two assists) in race for the Golden Boot.
“He’s playing better, both physically and in football terms. It was quite difficult to beat the Messi from the Copa America but he did it. This gives energy to the whole squad. He’s excited, he’s full of joy and it helps us very much.”
France have been formidable with Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Olivier Giroud in phenomenal form in Qatar.
“We’ve watched them, because we could have played them in the quarter-final. And of course we saw them in the last World Cup. It’s not about one player,” the Aston Villa goalkeeper said when asked about Mbappe’s threat in the final.
“The front four can be very dangerous, they have a great defence, with world-class defenders regardless of who plays, and they have a great keeper as well. We know we can pose a threat, so although we know how good they are up front, we’ll try to play our game and cause them problems,” he added.
“We’ll need to keep our heads early on in the game, not take too many risks or do things we don’t normally do.”
Argentina suffered a shock defeat to Saudi Arabia in their opening match before they bounced back with wins over Mexico and Poland in the group stage to enter the knockout stage where they defeated Australia, Netherlands and Croatia to reach the final.
“It’s been a difficult journey but after Saudi Arabia we said we wouldn’t let our country down and that we’d give everything to reach the World Cup final. Now we’re one step away,” said Martinez.
With Argentina receiving overwhelming support in Qatar, the goalkeeper said fans are giving extra motivation to the team.
“In every game, in every stadium, we feel like the home team. When we go out to warm up, or before kick-off, we feel the passion of the fans, and it makes us feel like we’re playing in Argentina. I think that’s the big advantage and that helped us overcome the bad game we had against Saudi Arabia,” he said.foo
