Lionel Messi gave up his spot in the starting lineup to other Argentine players for the match against Jordan (1-3), since his team had already secured first place.
“Leo could have played 90 minutes today, and—without meaning any disrespect to the opponent— he might have further cemented his legendary status, but he preferred to give his teammates some playing time,” said Argentina’s coach, Lionel Scaloni, at the press conference. “He also preferred to think about what lies ahead for us in the knockout stage, and that says a lot, because he isn’t focused on those numbers everyone is talking about, so I’m glad he made that decision,” added the Argentine coach.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
He also spoke about Cape Verde, Argentina’s opponent in the round of 32. “They’re a good team, a fast team; they play well, they have quality, and they’ll give us a hard time. It’s pointless for me to stand here and say they’re not a tough opponent, because that would be a lie. We saw how competitive they were against Spain, which is one of the favorites. Although Spain deserved to win, they couldn’t. Neither could Uruguay, nor Saudi Arabia,” he said.
*photo source: AP
