FIFA World Cup 2022: Lionel Messi’s Argentina reminds of Diego Maradona’s 1986 staff, says Gary Lineker

FIFA World Cup 2022: Argentina went into the quarter-finals of the match after Lionel Messi dished out a masterclass towards Australia on Saturday, 3 November. British greats Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer have been left in awe of the participant.

Doha,UPDATED: Dec 4, 2022 03:52 IST

Lionel Messi and Argentina have fun their win over Australia. (Courtesy: AP)

By India Today Web Desk: Former England star and one of many best British goalscorers of all time Gary Lineker has been left in awe of Lionel Messi and his Argentina facet within the FIFA World Cup 2022. Lineker has drawn comparisons with Diego Maradona’s 1986 staff, stating that Maradona’s facet was extremely exhausting to play towards they usually relied upon the magic of Maradona to win video games.

Lineker’s feedback got here after Argentina certified to the quarterfinal of the FIFA World Cup after defeating a spirited Australian facet by 2-1 margin in Doha on Saturday, 3 December. Speaking on a BBC present, Lineker mentioned that the present Argentine staff has the power to endure powerful video games.

“It does remind me a bit of 1986 and the side with Maradona. Hard to play against, tough and enduring tough games and seeing their way through. They were difficult to beat and relied on the magic of Maradona. There are so many similarities,” the previous participant mentioned.

“Maradona was at his peak, Messi is obviously coming to the end of his career. But can they do it?” Lineker puzzled.

On the evening, Lionel Messi probably performed considered one of his finest World Cup video games, the 35-year-old former Barcelona participant singlehandedly took on the Australian defence at instances. He scored one purpose and set a number of of his teammates up in scoring positions, however Argentina didn’t capitalise on the identical.

Messi’s purpose on the evening was his traditional transfer, enjoying a fast one-two after which firing a low roller because the Australia defenders surrounded him. The ball ended up into the far backside nook of the purpose, which broke the impasse on the evening. Premier League’s best goalscorer Alan Shearer spoke concerning the effort and mentioned that Messi’s awarness of the area round him was unimaginable.

“The way Messi works that space. The way he carries the ball when there is much going on around him. He’s got everything. Whenever he gets the ball the whole stadium gets on its feet. It doesn’t matter where he is on the pitch, the whole stadium rises,” Shearer mentioned.

Argentina will now face Netherlands of their quarter-final fixture of the match.

Edited By:

Kingshuk Kusari

Published On:

Dec 4, 2022