More pressure on Messi: Zanetti
MOSCOW: Former Argentina and Inter defender Javier Zanetti believes pressure on Lionel Messi has increased in recent years following the national side’s struggles.
La Albiceleste lost 0-1 to Germany in the World Cup final in Brazil four years ago and also suffered consecutive Copa America defeats to Chile in 2015 and 2016.
Messi, who turns 31 later this month, has won everything he can at club level but has only managed to win an Olympic gold medal with his country in 2008.
Now preparing for what could be his last World Cup, Messi carries the hopes of Argentina on his shoulders again and does so with intensified scrutiny on his performances, according to Zanetti.
“There is a lot of pressure on him, but not only in this competition but also in the past,” Zanetti told Mediaset.
“Everyone expects it to be his World Cup and that Argentina can win, but it will be difficult because I see other more equipped national teams.
“The defeats in the two Copa America and World Cup finals further increase pressures on him and the team from the press. We expect a lot.
“It [the World Cup] stops all the country, there is great enthusiasm and passion for this national team and we hope to get to the end of the competition.”
Zanetti also believes Neymar is nearing the same level as Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Brazil international was the star of the show for his nation in their home World Cup four years ago, only for his involvement to be cut short following an injury suffered in the quarter-final victory over Colombia.
Neymar subsequently missed the semi-final against Germany, where his team suffered a humbling 1-7 defeat against eventual winners Germany, but will hope to lead his side to glory this year.
Already capped 85 times, Neymar caught the headlines last year with a record transfer from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain as he continued his quest to become the world’s best.
While Messi and Ronaldo are still viewed as the top two, Zanetti feels the PSG forward - who has recovered from a foot injury in time to feature in Russia - is not far behind.
“Neymar is very strong, has great quality and is very close to Messi and Ronaldo,” he said. “I believe that this World Cup can be that of his consecration.”
Zanetti said it would be a “great satisfaction” for Argentina to host the 2030 World Cup as part of a joint bid alongside Uruguay and Paraguay.
The 44-year-old appeared at the 1998 and 2002 World Cups and played 143 times for Argentina, a record he shares with Javier Mascherano. “(The bid) would be a great satisfaction for us as a country after we organised it in 1978, for us to organise such a competition like this again that makes the country grow,” Zanetti told reporters at Conmebol’s Casa del Futbol in Moscow.