ARRIGO Sacchi believes Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe are not unstoppable as the two key men prepare to lead their countries’ attacks in Sunday’s Qatar 2022 World Cup final.
Messi and Mbappe have scored five goals each to inspire Argentina and France to the final, and many pundits have tipped them to have an impact on Sunday at the Lusail Stadium in Doha.
Sacchi, the legendary Italian coach that led AC Milan to great success in the 1980s and 1990s and also handled his country’s national team, insists the two forwards can be stopped with the same method he used to cope with Diego Armando Maradona.
The late former Argentina captain and legend Maradona faced Sacchi’s AC Milan on several occasions when he played for Napoli.
“There were three ways. The first was to keep the ball, so Diego didn’t have it,” Sacchi said in an interview with La Gazzetta Dello Sport published today.
“The second was to press high, so Diego wouldn’t get the ball. Third, if Diego got the ball, we would face him as a unit. The same applies to Messi and Mbappe, two phenomenons.”
The now 76-year-old Sacchi, who led Italy past Nigeria to the 1994 World Cup final where they lost on penalties to Brazil, named Brazil and Spain as the most underwhelming teams in Qatar.
Five-time champions Brazil were favourites coming into the competition but were beaten on penalties by Croatia in the quarter-finals, while 2010 champions Spain lost out to Morocco in the round of 16, also on penalties.
“Brazil and Spain more than anyone else. Spain were too slow, Brazil relied too much on their stars,” Sacchi said when asked which teams disappointed him the most.
“Football is going the opposite way, it will become a game of collective smartness. Germany played well in the first half against Japan and then they disappeared.
“I’ve read there was tension internally, I don’t know the situation so I can’t judge, I can only say that I used to pick reliable men before good footballers when I was doing my teams.”
