Spain will not ‘man-mark’ Messi in the final!

Is Spain planning to bottle up Lionel Messi in the World Cup final? Will Spanish coach Luis de la Fuente have a special guard on the field for the Argentina captain? De la Fuente simply said – absolutely not. Messi will be kept in the eye in Monday’s final, but they have no plans to ‘man-mark’. Because he learned long ago how dangerous it can be to try to contain Messi in this way.

De la Fuente was asked about his tactics to stop the 39-year-old Messi at a press conference on Saturday. He then recounted a thrilling story from his time as Sevilla youth team coach. Recalling how he failed to stop a young Messi in a Spanish Cup match against Barcelona, ​​the Spain coach said, “We went to play against Barcelona in the Spanish Cup. I had heard a lot of great things about a boy named Messi. Naturally, from the start of the match, we put a player behind him (man-to-man marking). The scoreline was 0-0 until the 70th minute.”

Then the dramatic incident happened. De la Fuente said, ‘When our player who was marking Messi saw the card, I took him off the field. And in the next 15 minutes, Messi scored 4 goals by himself!’

That experience left a deep mark on the Spanish coach. Before the final, he clarified his strategy, saying, “What does that mean? Are we going to mark him man-to-man? No. But are we going to keep a very close eye on him? Of course, yes.”

Messi, who is playing in his last World Cup, is still Argentina’s biggest hope. He is the main obstacle in Spain’s mission to retain the title, which is in search of its first global trophy since 2010. The name of Spain’s 18-year-old young sensation Lamine Yamal is naturally in the discussion because of Messi’s presence in the final. However, De la Fuente is not willing to put any additional pressure on the teenager’s shoulders right now.

Praising Messi, the Spain coach said, “Messi is unique; he is a unique talent and, most importantly, he is an example for young athletes. But Lamine has to be like Lamine. I think the best way to help him is to be by his side, so that he can be the Lamine we know.”

Yamal was absent from practice last Wednesday after sustaining an injury in the semi-final match against France. However, the coach assured fans about his fitness ahead of the final, saying, “He had a severe injury to his thigh; he was fouled in the box. The area was quite painful. However, today he participated in practice normally with the rest of his teammates.”

Spain has adapted to all the unusual rules of this World Cup, such as hydration breaks and long half-time shows. De la Fuente gave this message to his players before the tournament started. Praising the team’s mentality, the coach said, “There was not a single complaint or dissatisfaction from anyone. Adapting means accepting what you cannot change. And since you cannot change it, it is better to enjoy it.”