Petkovic on Messi: «He has eight Ballons d'Or, deserves respect» | OneFootball

After Argentina’s national team made its debut at the 2026 World Cup, Algeria coach Vladimir Petkovic chose not to fuel complaints about the Argentine captain’s allegedly rough play and instead heaped praise on his stature and the clinical display of Lionel Scaloni’s team.

Algeria had an extremely difficult opening match against the reigning world champion. After the defeat, the Algerian press tried to focus the press conference on a controversial first-half incident: a hard foul by Lionel Messi on defender Aïssa Mandi that VAR decided not to review and which, in the view of local journalists, could well have earned the “10” a red card.

However, far from looking for excuses in the refereeing, Petkovic immediately defused the controversy. Although he acknowledged having seen the replay after the final whistle, the Swiss coach of Bosnian origin preferred to emphasize the Argentine star’s influence on the course of the match.

In awe of the captain’s talent

“It’s pointless to comment on hypothetical situations right now. Everyone saw it, myself included. After the match I reviewed the footage, but I don’t want to talk about that,” the national team manager said firmly. He quickly redirected his remarks toward the Rosario-born star’s pedigree: “Class is timeless. We’re not talking about just any player. We’re talking about a footballer who has won the Ballon d’Or eight times.”

The coach analyzed how Argentina’s collective strengths enhance the individual abilities of its emblematic star, noting that Argentina recorded ten shots on target and seven of them came from Messi’s feet. “He has the privilege of having the whole team working for him, supporting him for many years. With his composure and mental clarity in crucial moments, he can make things much easier. In the end, they deserved to win this match,” he admitted graciously.

Algeria’s future in the group

Despite starting the tournament with a negative result, Petkovic remained optimistic about his team’s chances of reaching the round of 16, understanding that this opponent is on a different level.

“We were up against a superior team. It would have been a great achievement if we had managed to get a point today. The other two teams in the group still have to play Argentina, so our fate remains in our own hands,” the coach reflected, already looking ahead to the next international fixtures against Jordan and Austria.

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