i want to face Neymar in final –Messi

 

Lionel Messi

Argentina captain Lionel Messi has said he would like to play Barcelona teammate and Brazil forward Neymar in the World Cup final,FootballEspana reports.

The tournament begins on Thursday with Brazil meeting Croatia, and Messi has said in an interview that if he could choose, he would play the hosts in the final.

“It would be a dream to get to the World Cup final,” Sport quoted Messi as saying.

“For the way things are going I think we can get there. Hopefully I can play Neymar in the final, but if not him, then any team.”

This will be Messi’s third World Cup, having debuted in the competition in 2006 and returned four years later under Diego Maradona.

Messi reflected on his past World Cup experiences, revealing his unhappiness with criticism that was levelled at him after Argentina disappointed in Germany, and what it was like to be coached by Maradona.

“It was beautiful as it was my first experience in the tournament,” Messi said of 2006. “But after we went out they were very unfair to me, because that team played well.

“They said I wasn’t bitter about the defeat, which wasn’t true.”