Respecting Lionel Messi Doesn't Mean Letting Him 'Depart' On The Field

Argentine national team player, Lionel Messi. (Photo: Twitter @Argentina)

JAKARTA - The Australian national team will face Argentina on FIFA Matchday which will take place Thursday, June 15. This match will be held at the Workers Stadium, Beijing, China.

In the match later, Argentina is believed to appear with the best strength, including Lionel Messi.

Australian team coach Graham Arnold said his team had great respect for Lionel Messi. However, they will do whatever it takes to stop it.

"Regarding Lionel Messi, how can you disrespect someone who has done what he has done in football?" Graham Arnold told reporters quoted by AFP via Antara.

Arnold will make sure his team is not only focused on stopping Messi, but rather featuring the best performance.

"Of course we respect it, but at the same time we want to stop it and ensure focus on team performance, ensure that we come out and play properly and perform great against world champions," he said.

The two teams had previously met in the last 16 of the 2022 World Cup, where Messi scored and eliminated Socceroos with a score of 2-1. Messi and Argentina were then able to advance to the final before winning the World Cup after beating France.

Arnold, who said Australia had learned from their defeat to Argentina in Qatar last winter, had brought the youth squad to China after many of their senior players were sidelined due to injury.

"We have a younger squad of players here, a coming player we will see over the next four years to be able to lead us to qualify for the next World Cup," he said.