World Cup

VIRGIL VAN DIJK says that Holland have to conjure up a plan to stop Lionel Messi from “chilling” on Friday.The Dutch are preparing to face Argentina in the World Cup quarter-final in two days’ time.
Virgil van Dijk says the Dutch must plan to stop Lionel Messi ‘chilling’Credit: Alamy
The Argentina legend already has three goals at the World Cup for his nationCredit: Rex
The Liverpool star will come face-to-face with the legendary forward as the two nations battle it out for a semi-final place.
Messi, 35, has already scored three goals at the tournament and is looking to finally get his hands on the World Cup – the one prize that has eluded him in his epic career.
Van Dijk spoke to the media on Wednesday ahead of the showdown about the threat of the Paris Saint-Germain attacker.
And he knows full well that Messi is capable of looking like he is doing very little before bursting into lift and drifting into spaces to punish the opposition.
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The 31-year-old defender said: “The difficult thing about him is when we are attacking, he is chilling somewhere in a corner or something.
“You have to be so very sharp in terms of defensive organisation.
“They always looked for him to try to make it difficult for us on the counter.”
Van Dijk added: “It is an honour to play against him.
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“It is not me against him, or the Netherlands against him, but the Netherlands against Argentina.
“No one can do it on his own, we will have to come up with a good plan.”
Van Dijk and Messi have come up against each other previously, the most-notable being in the 2019 Champions League semi-final.
Messi scored twice to put Barcelona into a 3-0 first-leg lead but Liverpool famously came back to win the second-leg 4-0. More

A WORLD Cup supercomputer has predicted the rest of the tournament as the quarter-finals loom.And England are sadly tipped to EXIT the tournament when they play France on Saturday.
A supercomputer predicts England will LOSE to France… with Brazil winning the World Cup
Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions are looking to win football’s top prize in Qatar this year.
Harry Kane and Co have overcome some tricky opponents, beating Iran, Wales and Senegal while drawing against the USA.
But they face their toughest test against the reigning champs this weekend.
Kylian Mbappe has been in devastating form, while Olivier Giroud has become France’s all-time leading goal-scorer.
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And a supercomputer from BonusCodeBets predicts Didier Deschamps will outwit Southgate in their tactical battle.
That will see France set up a semi-final against Portugal, who are backed to beat Morocco despite Spain falling to the underdogs.
On the other side of the draw, Argentina are predicted to topple Holland, with Brazil getting the better of Croatia.
That would result in a mouth-watering Superclasico semi-final.
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And it’s Tite’s Samba Boys who will apparently do the job against Lionel Messi to reach the World Cup final.
On the other side of the draw, Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to bow out with Portugal in their semi against France.
It means the supercomputer reckons Mbappe will face off against Paris Saint-Germain pal Neymar for the top prize.
But it’s Brazil who will be celebrating come the final whistle with victory over France on reckoning day. More

LIONEL MESSI could be BANNED from entering Mexico as a furious politician launched a campaign trying to block the Argentine hero – four years before they host the World Cup.Messi, 35, angered Mexicans on and off the pitch at the World Cup in Qatar.
Lionel Messi’s row with Mexico was escalated by a politicianCredit: Getty
He caused some anger when he accidentally flicked a Mexico shirt
He scored the winning goal in their Group C clash to help secure a 2-0 win for La Albiceleste.
But it was in the changing room celebrations afterwards where the controversy really started.
Messi seemingly accidentally flicked a Mexico shirt as he tried to take his boots off.
Boxer Canelo Alvarez kicked off massively, threatening the Argentina captain.
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And now Maria Clemente Garcia Moreno is leading the calls in government to have Messi barred from setting foot in Mexico.
The politician described his actions in the dressing room as showing “contempt” and a “lack of respect towards Mexico” and subsequently called for a “persona non grata” against Messi.
And a legal document reads: “The Chamber of Deputies of the Honorable Congress of the Union respectfully urges the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to issue the corresponding Declaration in order to declare persona non grata within of the territory of the United Mexican States to the citizen of Argentine and Spanish nationality, Lionel Andres Messi Cuccitini, due to his manifest contempt and lack of respect towards Mexico during the World Cup of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) on Saturday, November 26, 2022.”
Canelo kick-started the bitter row between Messi and Mexico when he tweeted: “Did you guys see Messi cleaning the floor with our jersey and flag. He better pray to God that I don’t find him.
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“Just like I respect Argentina, he has to respect Mexico! I’m not talking about the country as a whole, just about the bulls*** that Messi did.”
Former Argentina striker Sergio Aguero then became embroiled in a war of words with the Mexican boxing icon.
Aguero tried to explain the situation and the reality of the incidental flick – only for Canelo to label him a “hypocrite b******” and a “s***”.
And Argentinian UFC star Santiago Ponzinibbio even offered to fight the four-weight world champion to settle the spat.
But it appeared to be de-escalated when the legendary boxer publicly apologised.
Canelo – whose beloved Mexico were knocked out in the group stages – said: “These last few days I got carried away by the passion and love I feel for my country and made comments that were out of place for which I want to apologise to Messi and the people of Argentina.
“Every day we learn something new and this time it was my turn.
“I wish both teams much success in their matches today and here we will continue supporting Mexico until the end.”
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Messi, meanwhile, will have his full attention on facing Holland in Friday evening’s quarter-final.
He has already said this would be his last World Cup – even before the mild threat of a ban in Mexico – so is desperate to add the one trophy missing from his incredible collection on December 18.
Messi scored one and set up the other in the World Cup clashCredit: Getty More