Argentina legend Diego Maradona believes the
Albiceleste have lost their fear factor and will have to rely on the
influence of Lionel Messi to do well at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in
Russia.
Maradona enjoyed remarkable success with the
Albiceleste, having captained the side at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico
which they won and is regarded by many as the greatest footballer to
have ever played the game.
The South Americans who also made
it to the final of the 1990 World Cup in Italy where they lost 1-0 to
Germany are drawn in Group D along with Nigeria, Croatia and Iceland.
The two-time world champions enjoyed a successful qualifying campaign and top the South America zone of the qualifiers.
They
are also among the favourites to lift the title having reached the
final in 2014, but Maradona is concerned the team no longer command
respect from opposing teams like in the past.
“The problem
with Argentina is that we don’t have good defence and midfield. People
talk about Lucas Biglia but he is not the best for me. Unfortunately
they are always afraid to say it,” the Napoli legend stated in an
interview with diariopopular.com.ar.
“Today, except for
Lionel Messi teams don’t fear Argentina again. Look at the last game
against Nigeria, they nearly scored eight goals against us. In my time
you know what happened when we played them.
“Jorge Sampaoli is lucky we have Messi in the team because when he is in top form he can cover the mistakes of others.
“If he hits top form in Russia, then we have 60 percent of becoming the champion with others complementing his effort.”
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