MADRID, 12 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Argentine international Leo Messi has acknowledged that he sees “many similarities” between the current Albiceleste team and the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, which managed to reach the final, and has highlighted “the group and mental strength” that exists in the locker room.
“Today I feel a lot of similarities between this group and the one from 2014 and all that process until the end of the World Cup. The group that was put together seems very similar to me, and I think group and mental strength is very important. that starting the World Cup well and winning the first game is fundamental and marks you a lot for the rest”, he declared in an interview with the Argentine sports newspaper ‘Olé’.
In addition, the Paris Saint-Germain striker stressed the importance of the group isolating itself from all the emotion that the Argentine fans are experiencing. “At the pressure level, I think we have to isolate ourselves from everything that people are experiencing. Although we have great hope, we are also realistic and aware that we are going through a good time; at the same time we have to know that it is a World Cup , which is very difficult, where all the details add up and any detail can leave you out,” he said.
“We have to go from the first to the last game in the same way. It’s a group that always does it whatever the game is, they play it with the same intensity and concentration, and I think that’s very important. All this knowing that we’re going to go to fight, but that we are not going to be champions from the outset as we Argentines think,” he continued.
Regarding his experience in past World Cups, Messi explained that in Germany 2006 he had “innocence” and “the anger of wanting to play”, and that Brazil 2014 was “an unforgettable experience”. “I enjoyed it a lot and it became clearer to me than ever that the main thing and the important thing is to have a strong and united group. That ultimately leads you to the goal,” he concluded.