The Argentina football team skipper and star footballer Lionel Messi has accepted that it has not been his best Copa America so far and the semifinal clash against hosts Brazil is not going to be an easy affair.
Argentina proceeded into semifinal of the Copa America 2019 after beating Venezuela 2-0 on Friday at Maracana thanks to goals from Lautaro Martinez and Giovani Lo Celso. They will take on hosts Brazil in semifinal now.
As per experts it was the Argentines’ best performance yet in a tournament they began with 2-0 defeat to Colombia followed by a 1-1 draw with Paraguay.
“It’s difficult to give a favorite between Argentina and Brazil, even more so in this Copa America where anyone can beat anyone,” 32-year-old Messi was quoted.
“We respect them, we know what Brazil represent,” he added.
Meanwhile Brazil struggled to make the semi-finals and proceeded only after beating Paraguay on penalties following a 0-0 draw.
“We’re in good form to take on Brazil, but we’ll have to be very focused,” said Barcelona star Messi.
On the occasion Messi also admitted that it has not been his best outing at Copa so far with only goal from him coming through penalty.
“I’m not having my best Copa America,” he said.
But as a team, Messi said their performance against Venezuela was “complete.”
“Defensively we didn’t have any problems and the team was very solid at all times.
“We didn’t leave them any spaces when they went looking for them. We were very united and waited for the opportunities to counter quickly.”