Luis de la Fuente recalls first time facing Messi, ‘we man-marked him and he scored four’ | OneFootball

Spain face Argentina and Lionel Messi in Sunday’s World Cup final, with Luis de la Fuente recalling his first meeting with Messi and setting out his approach for the match.

Spain advanced after beating France, while Argentina eliminated England. “It is a luxury to be in a final, I would sign to reach a World Cup final every year and lose it,” he told SPORT.

The Spain coach recounted that as a young Sevilla coach at youth level, his side met Barcelona in a cup tie. They began with a man-marking plan on Messi and it was 0-0 on 70 minutes, but after his marker was booked he made a change and Messi struck four in 15 minutes.

De la Fuente described Messi as a player who defies logic, hard to stop however carefully you plan. He noted Messi goes into the final as the tournament’s standout performer and leading scorer. He also regards Lamine Yamal as a lethal weapon in his own squad.

Looking ahead, he said they will not deploy a man-to-man plan on Messi, though they will be highly attentive. “On Sunday we are not going to put a man-marker on him, but we will be very alert to him,” he said, adding that Argentina must also pay close attention to Spain’s players.

Source: El Periódico Mediterráneo