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Doha (AFP) – Argentine national team coach Lionel Scaloni expressed, on Saturday, his hope that “Albiceleste” captain Lionel Messi would raise the World Cup at the end of the match once morest France in the final match of the Qatar 2022 World Cup on Sunday.
In a press conference on the eve of the expected match at Lusail Stadium in the Qatari capital, Doha, Scaloni said, “This match will be Messi’s last, and we hope he lifts the cup tomorrow, but the most important thing is that we enjoy Messi’s performance and that he also enjoys the match.”
Regarding his preparations for this confrontation, Scaloni stressed, “Our plan to play tomorrow is clear. We know how to attack the French national team, and we know its strengths, and yes, we will pay great attention to them.”
He added, “We will try not to reach penalty kicks,” similar to what happened in the match once morest the Netherlands in the quarter-finals of the World Cup, but “if it falls, we will choose the best to settle it.”
When asked regarding the tears he shed on the field following defeating Croatia (3-0) in the semi-finals, the young coach said, “Tears are part of our culture. We are fond of football and I think we have the best fans around the world ever. Football is more than just football.” sport for us.
For his part, Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez said, “What we are going through is a very crazy experience.”
He added, “We lost an opening match once morest Saudi Arabia, but we remained enthusiastic, determined, and persevering, and improved from one match to another. Against Poland and Mexico, we played as if we were in the final match, and also once morest the Netherlands, but they took us to penalties, and therefore the journey was bumpy.”
He continued, “But we wanted to fight and fight beyond Saudi Arabia and do our best to play the final match, and now we are very close to the last step.”
© 2022 AFP
