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Lionel Messi is expected to lead Argentina's attack when they take on Paraguay in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers on Thursday evening. Paraguay manager Eduardo Berizzo already has plans in place to limit the influence of the Paris Saint-Germain forward.
Speaking ahead of the encounter, Berizzo explained how he intends to deal with Lionel Messi's threat:
"The first thing to consider when playing against Messi is to try to pressure those giving him the ball. If a player has the ability to pass to him, then you are bound to suffer the best of Messi - his control, his contact with the ball, his acceleration and his dribbling."
"We have to apply pressure to those around him so that he doesn’t have as many opportunities [to be in possession]. Then, when he finds the ball, have closeness between one or two against one so that he does not speed up the game. He has a great balance, we know who he is. And he also has a great ability to pass to footballers who are free."
The 51-year-old added:
"When you imagine Messi, you don’t have to imagine him alone, but rather you have to imagine how they give him the ball and how they get away from it. We trust that with a group zone, with a supportive footballer, we will be able to neutralize it."
Paraguay and Argentina will continue their fight for a spot in the 2022 FIFA World Cup when they face each other on Thursday. The game is scheduled to kick off by 8:00 PM in Argentina, with referee Anderson Daronco set to officiate.
Lionel Messi having a nice time with Argentina
Lionel Messi is in the brightest period of his Argentina career right now. The attacker finally overcame his international disappointments when he led La Albiceleste to Copa America glory this summer.
The 34-year-old finished with the most goals and assists in the tournament. He was also was named the best player in the competition.
The Paris Saint-Germain forward will be looking forward to what could be his last World Cup appearance in Qatar next year. It remains to be seen if fate will be on his side this time.
