Lionel Scaloni, who led Argentina to their third World Cup triumph in Qatar in 2022, highlighted that Lionel Messi did not behave like a superstar in the team camp.
“About Leo, it’s quite hard to explain,” Scaloni said during the post-match press conference.
“Although we get to see him on a daily basis and he’s been the best for 20 years, he still pulls it off every single match.
He further highlighted that “You don’t have to be an Argentina fan to admire what he’s done at age 38.”
“He’s playing with a group of friends, with people that are going to play with their heart for him,” said the Argentina boss.
“Whenever they need to have a conversation with him, they can just approach him, and it’s really hard to explain whatever he conveys, and I could stay here with you for over an hour trying to explain exactly what he does, but you need to be there to really understand”
Scaloni further hailed his troops for grabbing all three points in the opening Group J match.
20 years since making his World Cup debut, Lionel Messi led, the World Champions, to a solid 3-0 victory against Algeria.
It was a game that looked entertaining from the onset, with 17 minutes played on the clock; Messi unleashed a ferocious effort from outside the box for the defending champions’ opener.
Messi at par with Klose.
The fixture was not short of controversy as Messi could have received his marching orders following a nasty infringement on Algeria’s Aïssa Mandi in the 32nd minute, but the referee only awarded a free-kick without issuing a card or engaging a VAR review.
Argentina held on to a slender 1-0 lead at half-time, but you could almost sense that the floodgates would eventually open. Messi was at it again, pouncing on a loose save from Luca Zidane to double his team’s advantage.
The Argentina wizard had more magic in his boots and completed his first hat-trick at the World Cup with a powerful shot at the edge of the box in the 76th minute.
That goal now ties Messi with German legend Miroslav Klose at 16 goals, which is the record for the highest number of goals at the FIFA World Cup.
Argentina goes into the tournament as the highest-ranked team according to FIFA; up next is a game against Austria before capping off the group stage against Jordan.
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