As the world got to witness another truly special performance from the living legend Lionel Messi, even Socceroos players admitted to sneaking a glance at the greatness unfolding before them.
Messi was kept relatively quiet in the early stages as Aussie young gun Keanu Baccus turned in an eye-catching performance in the middle of the park against a player he picked in his fantasy five-a-side team only weeks ago.
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But, in his 1000th professional match, the Argentinian superstar showed his match-winning qualities with his sublime finish to a well-worked move to give the South American team the lead midway through the first half.
Messi could have added more goals and assists as he began to run rampant in the second half, with the performance leaving even Socceroos coach Graham Arnold in awe.
“He’s one of the greatest ever,” Arnold said. “We really worked hard not to be in awe of him, because of the great player he is.
“But wow, he’s remarkable.
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“I had the privilege of playing against Diego Maradona, and now coaching against Messi – they’re both wonderful players and Argentina should be so proud and happy to have players of that calibre.”
Baccus, making his first start for the national team in one its biggest ever games, briefly had Messi’s measure in the early action as he hustled relentlessly and even dispossessed the legend on several occasions.
“It’s a great feeling, knowing you can play against the best in the world and do well,” Baccus said.
“ … He was always in that pocket where I was and pretty close. I pinched it a few times which was good but he’s obviously a great player and he got one in the end but that’s a credit to his great quality.”
Midfielder veteran Jackson Irvine said it was “surreal” to share the pitch with Messi and witness his performance first-hand.
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“You don’t get wrapped up in it though,” Irvine said.
“It’s not been part of my mentality as a player to be overawed, but you can’t help but glance over every now and then.
“For someone like myself who’s never played at the highest level domestically, it’s probably the only chance I’ll ever get to share the pitch with a player you’d have to say is arguably the greatest to ever do it. These are the moments you get to reflect on post-tournament.”
Defender Kye Rowles added: “It’s good to be out there with the world’s best. That’s what you come to these tournaments for and that’s why he’s one of the best players in the world.
“You think you’re doing a good job on him then he pops up for a goal and kind of knocks the wind out of you but just proud of all the boys’ efforts tonight.”
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Messi himself paid tribute to the Socceroos who made things difficult for a team considered one of the favourites to win the tournament.
“I’m very happy for taking another step forward, achieving another objective,” he said post-match.
“It was a very strong and difficult match, we knew it was going to be this way. We had played very recently, we didn’t have much time to rest up. We were concerned as we knew it was going to be a very physical match and they were very strong.”
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni was even more specific in his praise of Arnold’s men.
“They pressed us very intensively, they were fresher than us,” he said.
“ … We’re talking about a team that press very smartly and if you managed to come out from that pressure, you can manage to create a few chances. That’s what we did in the second half. We played calmly.
“It was a very tough opponent to be honest. Tonight’s match was very useful for everyone to understand how difficult it is, this competition.”
