Scaloni backs Messi, criticises water breaks: Austria tough | OneFootball

Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni criticized the hydration break and said Lionel Messi is fine for the match against Austria. The remarks were made this Sunday at Dallas Stadium, the venue where the Group J second-round clash of the 2026 World Cup will be played this Monday.

“The group gets through both good and bad situations. Being next to a friend is always better. That’s what we all feel”, the coach said and, on the eve of La Pulga’s 39th birthday next June 24, wished: “That he be happy, that’s what we all want”.

He was also critical of the hydration break that splits each half: “The heat and the fact that the match keeps stopping constantly make it help the theoretically weaker team. I think in the end it was done to have more time, and it makes things a bit choppy. This idea of four periods seems unreal”.

On that, he went into more detail about how he uses that time to talk to the players: “Everything I have in mind can change based on what happens in those 22 minutes. We have people analyzing the match from the stands and us on the bench. What you do at halftime, you do there. I think for the team looking to attack it gives you time to make adjustments, but it feels strange adapting to that, although if it continues I imagine that in time it will become normal. Today it’s not normal“.

Lastly, he again made clear that there are no “easy” matches in the World Cup and, regarding the clash against the team coached by Ralf Rangnick, concluded:

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.