Diego Costa thinks Argentina should appreciate Lionel Messi more | OneFootball

Spain striker Diego Costa says Argentina “should thank God” they have Lionel Messi.

Messi was a powerless onlooker as Spain destroyed Argentina 6-1 in Madrid on Tuesday evening and Costa says the Barcelona superstar was notable by his absence.

“You have to do an analysis in all aspects,” Costa told reporters.

“The Argentines criticise Messi a lot, but you can tell that when Messi is not there, they are something else.

“A player like Messi should not be criticised. You should thank God that he’s there.

“Messi must always be treated well. Even if he plays a bad game with the national team, having him on the field makes a difference.”

It was Messi’s hat-trick against Ecuador in November which enabled the Albiceleste to sneak into the World Cup automatically and speaking after Tuesday’s game, 1986 World Cup winner Pedro Pasculli gave an insight into just how much the nation are depending on him heading into Russia 2018.

“Argentina right now depend on Messi 10 times more than we did on Maradona back in 1986,” Pasculli told La Oral Deportiva.

Argentina boss Jorge Sampaoli revealed during his post-match press conference that Messi had missed the meeting with Spain due to fatigue, but the 30-year-old is expected to have recovered by the Barcelona travel to face Sevilla on Saturday evening.