KANSAS CITY.- Although Lionel Messi adds two missed penalties in the Worldthe Argentine coach, Lionel Scaloniclarified this Friday that it does not occur to him to choose another kicker for the quarterfinal match against Swiss.
Messi missed a maximum penalty against Austria in the group stage and another in the round of 16 against Egyptwhen Argentina He was resurrected after losing by two goals with 11 minutes left to end up winning 3-2.
The albiceleste captain, top scorer in the World Cup along with Kylian Mbappé With eight goals, he continues to have his Achilles’ heel in penalties, with four missed out of eight taken in World Cups.
Messi can do “whatever he wants on the field”
“It doesn’t even occur to me to tell him no (take the next penalty), to do what he wants. We have people who can kick, but he’s going to kick if he wants and if not, you’ll see. He can do what he wants on the field.”
“He will be the best as long as he feels like it”
“Leo almost always runs the same way in games. It’s not that he’s running more or less. What he’s doing is being much more decisive and the team helps him a lot. He did some preparation with his physical trainer and it has given him results.”
“It is evident that he is giving everything he has (…) It does not surprise me. Maybe people who do not know him expected that at 39 years old he would not be up to the task, but as long as he wants he will be the best, as long as he wants he will be the best.”
“Switzerland will be complicated”
“There is no rival equal, nor easy. We all know that. For me Swiss It is a very good team that competes with the best teams and always comes out ahead. “You can win or lose, but you always compete, you have a tradition in the World Cups and experienced, physically strong players.”
“It will be complicated. He has eliminated Colombiawho had been doing an enormous job and we thought they could get here with us.
Will he repeat eleven?
“Sometimes I repeated the lineup and it wouldn’t be unreasonable that it could happen, although there could also be some changes. In principle we will play similar to the one against Egypt. Beyond the madness of the match, in the game I think the team did very good things and I liked it.”
Is Spain-France an early final?
“I didn’t hear the comments that the Spain-France It will be an early final, but of course it is. “They are two great teams, two favorites and one will fall by the wayside, unfortunately.”
“Spain is going from less to more (…) Now they have a tough test that I think will put both teams in the place they need to be and one will reach the final. But they are doing things very well, they are a fearsome team.”
