Partidazo para abrir los octavos de final de este Mundial de Rusia 2018. En Kazán, con un ambiente impresionante y dominado por la hinchada argentina, galos y albicelestes se medirán en el gran enfrentamiento de esta serie mundialista. Un no va más. Si no estuviera Messi, seguramente el favorito sería Francia, por lo demostrado en los últimos años y por tener una generación superior a la Albiceleste en estos momentos. Pero Leo juega, y lo hace para los argentinos. Es su dios menor, su mesías, como ayer expresaron los dos integrantes de su país que aparecieron públicamente en rueda de prensa.
"Messi ve cosas que sólo un genio puede ver", dijo el seleccionador Sampaoli, quien aseguró que "muchas veces es difícil estar a la altura" de Leo, y no escatimó elogios para el 10. "Tiene mucha claridad para ver el fútbol. Es un farol para nosotros", expresó.
Por su parte, Éver Banega, autor del pase del 1-0 para Messi ante Nigeria, elogió a su líder: "Si Messi va al piso -suelo-, todos tenemos que tirarnos de cabeza. Eso nos diferencia: tener un líder que quiere ganar a toda costa".
Como falso 9
Lo curioso es que, según ensayó el propio Sampaoli en la previa del partido, Leo podría actuar como falso '9' en la tarde de hoy. El técnico podría probarle ahí, ya que considera que la debilidad gala está por los costados (Pavard y Lucas Hernández) y no por el eje central (Umtiti-Varane). De ahí que colocar al crack por el centro sea una forma de mover el avispero y entrar por bandas con Pavón, jugador al que muchos aficionados reclamaban, y Di María. Veremos hoy si sólo fue una prueba o algo más serio.
Pero el partido estará protagonizado, sobre todo, por Leo y por Griezmann. Con cuatro años de diferencia, los números del argentino son bastante mejores, aunque la ascendencia del rojiblanco en su país está a una gran altura en estos momentos. La obsesión de los franceses es parar a Leo, y los argentinos se lo toman como algo más grupal. Leo tiene 65 tantos con su país mientras que Grizzi sólo llega a los 21 goles, pero con mucho camino por delante. Hoy tendrán una oportunidad de medirse de nuevo.
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