Lionel Messi was ‘walking on the pitch’ until the World Cup semi-finals, reckons former England boss Fabio Capello, who has given a mixed review of the Argentina superstar’s performances in Qatar.
Messi has been the central figure in Argentina’s run to the World Cup final, where they will meet France on Sunday, having scored five goals and provided three assists so far.
If he can lead his country to the trophy then the 35-year-old will undoubtedly win the Golden Ball, but Capello may think differently.
The veteran manager thought Messi was excellent as Argentina beat Croatia in the semis, but also felt that he was not really putting in the effort before that point, despite showing his immense quality throughout.
‘Mbappe and Messi made the difference in the semi-finals,’ Capello said, via AS. ‘The referees were good as well. Usually, the World Cup is played in June and players are tired. This time, nobody was tired, so the World Cup was even more enjoyable
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‘Messi is back to being Messi again, he played a great game [against Croatia]. The last match really surprised me, not the first ones. Initially, he was walking on the pitch, but his quality is also very, very high.’
Capello has been enjoying the tournament in general, seemingly backing the move to a winter World Cup as it has meant teams have more energy than the usual summer event.
‘It’s been a good World Cup,’ he said. ‘Everyone got there fresh, running a lot, pressing a lot. Very focused on everything.
‘Coaches have paid a lot of attention, so I think the two teams who have players of a different level reached the final.’
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