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Louis van Gaal has refused to be drawn into answering the question of how the Netherlands will keep Argentina captain Lionel Messi at bay in their FIFA World Cup quarter-final.
Argentina made a disastrous start to their 2022 FIFA World Cup campaign, losing 2-1 to Saudi Arabia. However, Lionel Messi and Co. have since won each of their three matches.
La Albiceleste have thus made their way into the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Qatar. They will now be hopeful of going all the way and getting their hands on the coveted trophy.
Argentina, though, will have to first beat the Netherlands to qualify for the semi-finals of the tournament. The two sides will lock horns with each other for a place in the last four at the Lusail Stadium on Friday (December 9).
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Lionel Scaloni will be hopeful that Lionel Messi will be firing on cylinders when they face Holland. Meanwhile, Van Gaal will be plotting a way to nullify the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner's threat.
While addressing the media ahead of the match, Van Gaal was asked how he intends to deal with Lionel Messi. The Dutchman, though, refused to reveal his plans but stated it would not be hard to guess. He told a press conference [via @AlbicelesteTalk on Twitter]:
“I'm not going to tell you, because otherwise I'll give away my tactic, and that's naive. But it's not that hard to imagine [what we'll do].”
The Netherlands progressed into the Round of 16 of the World Cup as Group A winners. They then booked their place in the quarter-finals by earning a 3-1 win over the USA.
Lionel Messi has been in fine form this FIFA World Cup
Lionel Messi has undoubtedly been one of the standout performers of the 2022 FIFA World Cup so far. His talismanic efforts have seen Argentina make their way into the quarter-finals despite losing their opener to Saudi Arabia.
The Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) superstar has found the back of the net three times for La Albiceleste so far in Qatar. He is the second joint-top goalscorer in the tournament, with only Kylian Mbappe (5) ahead of him.
Messi has also provided one assist during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in four games thus far. He is a strong candidate to bag the Golden Ball award when the competition draws to a close on December 18.
The 35-year-old, though, will be focused on leading Argentina to glory in Qatar. The FIFA World Cup is one trophy that has evaded him so far in his career.
