Swiss Hail Messi but Believe They Can Trouble Argentina

Swiss back themselves to trouble Argentina despite Messi admiration

Switzerland's players have lavished praise on Lionel Messi ahead of Saturday's World Cup quarter-final against Argentina, but insist they have identified weaknesses in the defending champions and are confident of pulling off an upset.

Midfielder Denis Zakaria described Argentina as the world's best team and hailed Messi as football's finest player, yet said Switzerland have the quality to contain the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner and derail the South Americans' title defence.

"We'll need to produce a huge performance if we want to beat them," Zakaria told reporters. "It's always difficult to stop a player like Messi, but I believe we have the quality and the players to do it."

Switzerland, who knocked out Algeria and Colombia to reach the last eight, have advanced to the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time in 72 years. Zakaria said the historic achievement had only increased the team's desire to go further.

Messi has scored eight goals in the tournament, level with France's Kylian Mbappe, and inspired Argentina's dramatic 3-2 comeback win over Egypt in the round of 16 after they trailed 2-0 with just 11 minutes remaining.

Team effort key

Zakaria acknowledged that Messi's freedom of movement makes him exceptionally difficult to contain, but stressed that Switzerland's focus must be on Argentina as a whole rather than solely on their captain.

"We know Messi is the best, or one of the best, players in the world. But Argentina are not just Messi. They have many other quality players, so we can't focus only on him," he said.

Forward Zeki Amdouni shared his teammate's admiration for Messi but said Switzerland had identified areas they could exploit.

"We've studied them and we'll continue doing so. I think there is space, and if we've reached this stage, it's because we believe we can hurt them too," Amdouni said.

Former Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann sparked debate this week after suggesting on German television that Swiss players showed too much respect for Messi and were more interested in leaving the match with his shirt.

Amdouni dismissed that notion, saying admiration would not affect Switzerland's approach.

"Messi is a great player—the greatest. As a child, everyone has idols, but playing against them is a different story," he said. "We'll give everything on the pitch and do our best to beat Argentina."