Fabio Capello feels Lionel Messi's performances have been subpar this World Cup
Fabio Capello lauded Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe’s efforts for Argentina and France in their respective World Cup semi-finals, but claimed the former has been mostly below average at Qatar 2022.
The Paris Saint-Germain teammates have been the tournament’s standouts, and they will square off in Sunday’s final in Qatar for the championship.
It is an opportunity for Messi to collect the main honor that has eluded him throughout his career, while it is an opportunity for Mbappe to defend the title he won in Russia in 2018.
Former England manager Capello praised both guys, claiming they were vital in their teams’ victories over Croatia and Morocco, respectively.
“Messi and Mbappe were crucial [in their semi-finals],” he stated.
“Messi played well, and Mbappe came close to scoring twice; his two shots created two deflections, and they triumphed against Morocco.”
Capello believes Messi did not always show a spark prior to his spectacular semi-final performance against Croatia.
“Messi is back to his old self,” he continued. “However, that just applies to the Argentina-Croatia game. He just strolled around the pitch before that game.”
Capello has loved the World Cup and believes its timing has added to the spectacle.
“It’s been a terrific World Cup,” the Italian added. The coaches did not give their opponents any space, and I observed excellent attention to detail.
“The players arrived in good shape and ran a lot. The players arrived in the middle of the current season, thus they were all in good shape.
“We have seen a [World Cup] of running and a decent level of competition, different to when the World Cup is generally hosted in June when the players are fatigued.
“The two teams in the final are the ones who were technically able to advance. I believe it will be extremely difficult for either side to win. “I’m not sure how it’ll finish.”
Messi and Mbappe are deadlocked for the Golden Boot with five goals each entering their last game of the tournament.
About Post Author
