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#1 Lionel Messi vs Raphael Varane
Lionel Messi and Raphael Varane has locked horns against each other on many instances at club level in possibly football's most prestigious fixture known as the 'El Clasico'. However, the stakes are even higher this time around when they meet in the round of 16 tie of the FIFA World Cup with absolutely no room for the slightest of lapse in concentration.
Messi opened his account in this year's tournament with a goal against Nigeria while Varane has looked solid at the back for France and has now gone over 180 minutes without conceding a goal. Argentina's hopes of progressing solely rest on Messi's individual brilliance to a certain extent while Les Bleus' best form of resistance against the little magician from Rosario will definitely include Varane.
The duo has nullified each other before but the occasion is certainly above every other battle they have ever contested and it could well and truly come down to who copes well with the weight of expectations.
