The nation of Argentina will be hoping that Lionel Messi can finally captain his side to World Cup glory this summer, but with massive pressure on the the 30-year-old to bring home the World Cup trophy, the Barcelona forward has been casting his opinion on which other players he thinks will stand out during the month long tournament.
Speaking to El Mundo Deportivo the 30-year-old named eight players to make a big impact in the competition, starting with Brazil:
Brazil have Ney and Philippe.
Spain have Andres Iniesta and Silva. Germany don’t have any one star but they are very solid.
Belgium have Hazard and De Bruyne. France have Griezmann and Mbappe. The tournament is full of very good players.
Messi failed to mention longtime rival Cristiano Ronaldo in his list of players, but we can assume that the Argentinian does believe that the 33-year-old is primed to make a big impact with Portugal in the tournament.
All eyes will be on Messi and Argentina this June and La Albiceleste have already suffered some unfortunate news with West Ham playmaker Manuel Lanzini being ruled out of the World Cup after rupturing his ACL in training.
Lanzini is expected to be replaced by either AC Milan's Diego Perotti, River Plate's Enzo Perez or Zenit St. Petersburgs Leandro Paredes. Argentina boss Jorge Sampaoli has raised eyebrows following the exclusion of Inter striker Mauro Icardi, but it is not thought Serie A's top scorer is in with a chance of replacing Lanzini's in the squad.
Argentina are in Group D with Croatia, Nigeria and Iceland and will take on England's conquerors in their first game of the World Cup this Saturday at 2pm at the Spartak Stadium.
