Argentina star Lionel Messi said on Saturday that Brazil and Spain, who qualified for the round of 16, are “very good” and strong candidates to win the World Cup in Qatar, despite losing in the last group matches.
«We watch so many World Cup matchesas possible, launched Messi into the mixed zone after his side’s 2-1 victory over Australia in the round of 16 on Saturday. “As we said at the beginning, Brazil are doing very well, despite losing to Cameroon. They are still among the big favourites. There is also France. Or Spain, despite losing their last match against Japan“, he listed.
Messi especially underlined the qualities of the Spanish national team coached by Luis Enrique Martínez, who was his coach at FC Barcelona. “They are a team that plays very well, that is very clear about what it is doing, that retains possession of the ball for a large part of the game.“, he analyzed.
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The soccer star also admitted that he didn’t expect Germany to be knocked out in the group stage. “I was surprised. They had a lot of important players, a young team. Germany are still among the best and it is surprising that once again, in a World Cup, they are knocked out in the first round“, he exposed. It is “the World Cup shows how difficult it is and how balanced everything is. It’s not the name of the team that counts anymore, it’s what you see on the pitch“, he judged.
