Ibrahim Afellay, a former Netherlands International has heaped praise on Argentina captain Lionel Messi ahead of the quarter-final meeting between the two countries.
Argentina, led by Lionel Messi will face the Netherlands in the quarter-final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup on Friday.
Afellay was Messi’s former teammate at Barcelona for four seasons and knows the PSG star much better than most of the Netherlands players.
Afellay noted that at the age of 35 the Argentina captain is not slowing down and is still the centrepiece of his national team.
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Messi wants to win the World Cup, being the only trophy missing in his trophy cabinet and Afellay believes there is no better time than now for the football king, Adaeventsnews gathered.
“He has to do it, he has to lead Argentina to that prize. You can imagine the pressure on his shoulders is enormous,” he said, according to Sportskeeda.
“Messi knows how to handle that pressure” that comes with chasing big tournaments “because he is still improving one record after another.
“He has been the best year after year. And he still is. The whole of Argentina is leaning on him. He takes responsibility every time and is decisive,” he said.
