Hansi Flick – National coach Hansi Flick speaks at a press conference. – Photo: Sebastian Gollnow / Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH / dpa
National team manager Hansi Flick believes longtime superstars Lionel Messi (35) and Cristiano Ronaldo (37) can still play a formative role at the World Cup in Qatar despite their advanced footballing age.
“I continue to rate both of them very well,” the 57-year-old said in an interview with “Sport Bild”. “Messi shows the internationals with Argentina that he is really sexy. And Cristiano? It would be foolish to think that he can’t play a crucial role at the World Cup just because he recently fought at Manchester United. “
Paris Saint-Germain’s Messi is still the central figure of the Argentine national team. Argentina play Group C in Qatar against Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Poland. Portugal’s Ronaldo is mostly just a substitute for Manchester United this season. In the summer, the striker had looked for a change. In the national team of the former European champion he is considered firm. Portugal face Ghana, Uruguay and South Korea in Group H in Qatar.
Flick warned not to focus too much on the two most world footballers. You don’t only play against Messi and Ronaldo at the World Cup, he said, “We play against Argentina or Portugal. It would be a mistake if we focused only on the two”. The World Cup starts on November 20th and ends on December 18th.
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