Gvardiol, the Croatian defender who suffered Messi’s ‘dance’: “When he plays for the national team he’s completely different”

At 35, Lionel Messi​ showed why he is still the best player in the world and in the semifinals against Croatia he did things like he was 20 years old. That same age is what she has Joško GvardiolHowever, the Croatian defender who broke it in the World Cup in Qatar 2022 was one of the great revelations against genius he could not do much. Messi walked him around in the play of the third goal (Julián Alvarez’s second) e the Leipzig defender recounted his experience.

A day you will never forget

Croatia lost 3-0 against Albiceleste e this Saturday he will be looking for third place against Morocco. A defeat that hurt a lot, but which some players will never forget because they faced the Argentine number 10. Indeed, Gvardiol himself has declared that he will be able to tell his children that he played against the “best footballer” in history.

“He had played against Messi but he’s a completely different player when he plays for the national team”said the young Croatian who hopes to beat La Pulga next time they meet. He currently works for Leipzig in Germany, although several clubs were interested in hiring him, therefore it won’t take long to make the leap to a more prominent club.

He plays well for his club and broke it in the World Cup. Furthermore, he is one of the big candidates to receive the award for the best young player: “It would be nice to receive an award for the best young player”Gvardiol claimed, even though he claimed it “It would be even better to go home with a medal”.

She also clarified that she wasn’t crying about her failures, but “about other things.” The Croatian national team proved to be solid defensively, albeit against Argentina He made mistakes that cost him dearly. But there’s no player who doesn’t make mistakes, especially in a defensive position. Mistakes are an intrinsic part of the sport and there are sure to be more. I will try to make them as few as possible“he said at a press conference.

The central defender played infiltrated against Scaloni’s men (in addition to the mask for a pre-Cup fracture), given that he felt discomfort in one foot, even if he made it clear that he already felt better. “We still have two days of work and I’m sure I’ll be fit”, he has declared. Finally, he spoke of the good level of defense, while giving credit to the whole team: “The defense is not made up only of defenders and the goalkeeper, it starts with Kramaric. You just have to work together.”.