Lionel Messi might be putting together the biggest carry job by any player in Argentina's World Cup history. The Argentina captain has scored 8 goals and registered 2 assists in the tournament, making him the top scorer alongside French talisman Kylian Mbappe.
The Barcelona legend has been involved in 10 of Argentina's 17 goals at the tournament, highlighting his importance to this side. There have been instances where Argentina has looked flat and Messi has waved his magic wand to rescue the team.
REUTERS/Paul Childs
One of the best examples came against Egypt, where Argentina looked dead and buried at 0-2, but Messi came through with a goal and an assist to help the team advance to the quarterfinals. And it's not just goals and assists. It's also his ability to create space for others and galvanize the group during difficult moments.
Argentina's next game is against England in the World Cup semifinal. The challenge for Thomas Tuchel's side is crystal clear: stop Messi, something very few coaches have been able to do.
However, Tuchel has been on the offensive before the game. The English manager issued a warning before the match, saying, “We are totally aware that we cannot stop him all the time and for 100 per cent. He’s a very different player from Erling Haaland, but we did very, very well in our way, in the way you maybe should play against Erling, so we will find a way now."
“He finds spaces, he finds moments and I think the big thing is the whole team buys into that idea. They buy into the idea to support him, to help him, and they are just ready when he bursts into action to make the difference. We will prepare for that, of course," he added.
Lionel Scaloni and Thomas Tuchel both have the massive task of getting their tactics right because both the teams have been defensively vulnerable. But the English manager has the biggest challenge of them, trying to stop Lionel Messi.
