KANSAS CITY: Switzerland players have heaped praise on Lionel Messi ahead of Saturday’s World Cup quarter-final against Argentina, but said they have identified weaknesses in the defending champions and believe they can cause an upset.
Midfielder Denis Zakaria described Argentina as the best team in the world and Messi as the game’s outstanding player, but insisted his side had the quality to contain the eight-times Ballon d’Or winner and derail the South Americans’ title bid.
“It will be up to us to produce a very big performance if we want to beat them,” Zakaria told reporters. “Obviously, it’s always difficult to stop a player like that, but I think we have the quality and we have the players to do it.”
Switzerland, who eliminated Algeria and Colombia in the knockout rounds, have reached the quarter-finals for the first time in 72 years but are hungry for more, the 29-year-old midfielder added.
Messi has scored eight goals in the tournament, level with France’s Kylian Mbappe, and inspired Argentina’s 3-2 comeback victory over Egypt in the last 16 after his side trailed 2-0 with 11 minutes remaining.
COLLECTIVE EFFORT
Zakaria noted that Messi’s freedom of movement makes him particularly difficult to neutralise, but added that the key to beat Argentina would be a collective effort rather than an exclusive focus on their captain.
“We know that Messi is the best or one of the best players in the world, but in the end, Argentina are not only Messi. Other players are good and we know that we don’t have to be only focused on Messi,” he said.
Forward Zeki Amdouni echoed his teammate’s admiration for Messi but said Switzerland had spotted opportunities to exploit.
“We’ve studied them and we’ll continue to do so today. I think there is space, and if we’re here today, it’s because we can hurt them too,” Amdouni said.
Former Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann raised eyebrows this week when he claimed on German television that Swiss players appeared to have too much respect for Messi and only wanted to leave the game with his shirt.
“Messi is a great player — the greatest. When you’re a child, everyone has idols. But playing against them is different,” Amdouni said. “We’ll give everything on the field and do our best to beat Argentina.” — Reuters
