"He looks fake on the field" - Australia star makes surprising comments on facing Lionel Messi at FIFA World Cup

Australian midfielder Keanu Baccus claimed that playing against Lionel Messi at the FIFA World Cup was a surreal experience. He claimed that the Argentina superstar was almost like a wax statue on the pitch and was blown away by his vision on the football pitch.

Argentina made it to the quarterfinals of the FIFA World Cup by beating Australia in the Round of 16. The South American giants have now gone a step further after beating the Netherlands in the quarterfinals.

Baccus was speaking to the media when he recalled his experience facing the PSG star on the pitch. He claimed that Messi was a special player to watch and said as per GOAL:

"It's surreal how good he actually is and how he watches the game, sees the game and takes it on himself. It's very special because not many people can do that. Receive the ball from anywhere on the field and back yourself, be confident to go at people and take the game on. I was trying to watch over my shoulder just to see where he was and what he was doing all the time."

He added:

"A special player to watch. He looks fake on the field, he looks a bit like a wax statue, to be honest. But it was amazing to play against him and I was trying to learn but it's also hard when you're in the thick of it."

Facing Lionel Messi is not an honor, claims Australia star

Australian defender Milos Degenek spoke about facing Lionel Messi ahead of the Round of 16 match and claimed it was not an honor to face the Argentina star. However, he admitted that he loves the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) star and believes he is the greatest of all time.

Degenek said:

"You know I have always loved Messi, I think he is the greatest to have played the game. It's not an honor to play against him because he is just a human, as we all are. It is an honor to be in the round of 16 of a World Cup. That is the honor in itself."

Lionel Messi, incidentally, broke his long-time hoodoo of never scoring in the knockout stages of the World Cup by scoring a sumptuous goal against Australia. The superstar took his overall World Cup tally to 10 goals after scoring a penalty against the Netherlands. It took him level with Gabriel Batistuta for most goals scored by an Argentine player in World Cups.

Lionel Messi's Argentina take on Croatia in the semifinals of the FIFA World Cup on Tuesday, 13 December.