“The players know what they need to do in every single moment” - Pochettino highlights what Argentina must do with Messi to win FIFA World Cup final
Lionel Messi and Argentina are on the cusp of winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup. La Albiceleste will play France in the final of the tournament on December 18 as they look to secure their third World Cup.
Lionel Scaloni's team defeated Croatia by a scoreline of 3-0 to book their place in the final. However, an aspect of their captain Lionel Messi's game, which has been criticized, is his defensive work-rate.
Argentine manager Mauricio Pochettino, who coached the 35-year-old at PSG, believes that the rest of the team needs to play for the superstar in order to make the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner flourish in the FIFA World Cup final. He said (via The Athletic):
"That's the most important thing about this Argentina team, and the reason why it's in the final. It's because the players fully understand their role: when you have Messi in your team, you have to run for him. And when you have the ball, you have to give it to him as soon as possible so that he can create something. So the players know what they need to do in every single moment, to give Messi everything he needs to be decisive, like he was on Tuesday night against Croatia."
Lionel Messi has been through it all at the World Cup 😅 https://t.co/LJax9515zR
He further added that Argentina's players give it their all for the former Barcelona attacker because they know they can win anything with the 35-year-old in the team. Ahead of the FIFA World Cup final, Pochettino said:
"Of course, Argentina need Messi, but Messi needs the other 10 players to fight for him in every single moment. It has been one of the keys of this side, how they all believe that by playing for Messi, they can win the World Cup. And you can see the players are giving 120 per cent to do this."
Mauricio Pochettino said that Argentina captain Lionel Messi doesn't need to press in the FIFA World Cup final against Argentina
The former Tottenham Hotspur manager stated that La Albiceleste's talisman doesn't need to press against France in the FIFA World Cup final, as the rest of the team should take care of that. He said:
"The point with Messi is that he does not need to press. When you have Messi, you need the other players to understand that they need to recover the ball and give it to him so that he can conserve his energy and then be decisive, just as Argentina are showing now."
Lionel Messi is the only player left from 2014 starting Xl 🇦🇷👀 https://t.co/D3L8W9kOcM
This will probably be Messi's last appearance at a World Cup and he will be desperate to add the biggest trophy in football to his glittering cabinet.