De Paul hails Messi, says he’s one step ahead of all of us

BRASILIA: Argentina midfielder Rodrigo De Paul has hailed Lionel Messi’s genius as the Albiceleste seek their first major trophy in almost three decades at the Copa America in Brazil.

Messi has been the tournament’s outstanding player, scoring four goals and providing four assists in Argentina’s march to the semi-finals. Victory against Colombia at Brasilia’s Mane Garrincha stadium would set up a tantalising final against hosts Brazil at the Maracana Stadium on July 10, reports Xinhua.

“(He is) one step ahead of all of us,” De Paul told a virtual news conference on Monday. “For the first goal against Ecuador (in July 3 quarterfinal), for example, he saw me alone and luckily, it helped us to win.”

Argentina’s last major tournament triumph came at the 1993 Copa America in Ecuador, where Gabriel Batistuta fired them to a 2-1 win over Mexico in the final.

Argentina have come agonisingly close to ending the drought in the past decade, finishing runners up at the 2014 World Cup and the 2015 and 2016 editions of the Copa America.

“We are motivated and we know how difficult the game against Colombia is going to be, but we feel prepared and very excited to face it,” said De Paul.

“This is a long road in which we must face great teams, but we are willing to fight until the last day to reach the final. We want nothing more than to bring joy to all Argentines,” the Udinese player added.

Argentina will continue to trust that Messi finds a way to overcome Colombia goalkeeper David Ospina on Tuesday at Mané Garrincha Stadium in Brasilia to return to the Copa America final.

Beat the impressive Ospina and Colombia, and Argentina will take on Brazil in Saturday’s decider. The hosts beat Peru 1-0 on Monday and star Neymar ended a news conference by saying he wanted to face Argentina in the final.

Messi has been in Barcelona form, scoring four goals and giving four assists in one of the best tournament displays of his Argentina career. The Copa America top scorer neted one and assisted his teammates twice in beating Ecuador 3-0 in the quarter-finals.

Ospina stopped two penalties in the shootout against Uruguay in the quarterfinals, was key in the 0-0 draw in regulation time, and plays a pivotal leadership role for a team that has scored only three times in the entire tournament.