In December 2022, Argentina won the World Cup championship after 36 years of waiting. Lionel Messi played a leading role leading to the achievements of “Albiceleste”. The captain born in 1987 scored in every knockout match, including a double in the final, and maintained his spirit to successfully complete the penalty shootout against France.
Argentina has many secrets to maintain Messi’s sublimation, one of which is to let the Inter Miami star play alongside players rich in speed and physical strength. Matias Manna, a video analyst on Lionel Scaloni’s coaching staff, told Urbana Play: “I’m always obsessed with seeing what Messi needs in the team. He needs good midfielders.
The best squad we’ve seen, for me in the 2022 World Cup or now, surrounds him with good midfielders, and that’s one of the secrets of this team. Alexis Mac Allister, Leandro Paredes, Enzo Fernandez, Rodrigo De Paul, Giovani Lo Celso are all Ferraris that know how to stop and accelerate.”Manna further shared how Argentina overcame France in the final match in Qatar: “We watched the France and Morocco match. We noticed that Jules Kounde played worse than Sofiane Boufal. So Lionel Messi told me to play Angel Di Maria on the left, against Kounde. I think it was the most important decision in the history of Argentine football.”
