"Feeling of strength is great" - Pep Guardiola weighs in on the impact Lionel Messi will have with Argentina at the World Cup
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has heaped praise on former pupil Lionel Messi for his impact on Argentina's national team.
The PSG ace is all set for his final World Cup appearance in Qatar later this year before potentially hanging up his boots.
La Albiceleste booked their place at the showpiece following an impeccable qualifying campaign consisting of 11 wins and six draws from 17 games.
Messi was at the heart of their impressive run with seven goals, a figure bettered only by Bolivia's Marcelo Moreno (10) and former Barcelona teammates Neymar and Luis Suarez (8 each) in the CONMEBOL zone.
"After the World Cup, I’ll need to think about a lot of things."
He'd be hoping for a memorable swansong with Argentina, who are among the favorites to clinch the World Cup, something they last won way back in 1986.
Guardiola highlighted the sheer amount of quality in Lionel Scaloni's squad while waxing lyrical about everything Messi offers in combination with the other stars in the team.
In an interview with Telemundo Sports, the Spaniard said:
“The fact of having him there, knowing that he has the unique ability to always create two or three personal actions out of nothing, be it goals or generating play with his forward team mates like Di María, Lautaro or Julián Álvarez… That feeling of strength is great.”
Guardiola managed him during his four glorious years at Barcelona from 2008 to 2012, which also coincided with the player's most productive spell in front of goal at the club.
Together, they lifted 14 titles, including two in the Champions League, the first of which in 2009 was part of a historic treble.
Messi's Copa America triumph will be a boost at the World Cup, feels Guardiola
Messi finally got the monkey off his back last year by winning the Copa America, his first international trophy with Argentina.
Before that, he and his team had lost a total of four major finals - three in the Copa America and one in the World Cup.
) Winning World Cup is Messi’s biggest dream. He is very motivated after winning the Copa America. In the national team, he has players who can help him. Whole team is trying to make Messi feel good. @FlorentTorchut 
Now, his continental glory could be prove to be a huge boost to Argentina's chances of pulling off a similar feat at the World Cup too, according to Guardiola.
He further added:
“Winning the Copa America for any group gives you a feeling of “we did it” and I’m sure that will help in the World Cup. I have seen little of Scaloni’s team but they have not lost for a long time and that feeling that you are winning and not losing is going to give you strength.”