Lionel Scaloni cited an iconic Lionel Messi and Neymar moment to de-escalate Argentina's rivalry with Brazil after Raphinha's X-rated comments.
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Scaloni attempts to de-escalate tense situationRaphinha made provocative statements against ArgentinaMessi and Neymar miss out on World Cup qualifiers due to injuriesFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱GettyWHAT HAPPENED?
Arch-rivals Brazil and Argentina are all set to lock horns in Buenos Aires on Tuesday in a 2026 World Cup qualifying game. Ahead of the exciting clash, Barcelona and Selecao star Raphinha made some X-rated provocative statements against the world champions during a chat with Romario. In response to the Brazilian, La Albiceleste boss Scaloni cited Lionel Messi and Neymar's example to try and de-escalate the tense situation.
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Speaking to the media ahead of the game, Scaloni said: "It’s an Argentina-Brazil match, it’s always an important game, but it’s still just a soccer match. I remember the image after the 2021 Copa America final of Leo sitting with Neymar on the steps of Maracana, and that is the image that should stay with all of us.
"That says it all: the best player in the world, and possibly the second-best player in the world, together and being friends. That’s the image we should hold on to. After that, it’s a soccer match, 90 minutes where each one wants to win. It doesn’t need to go beyond that, and it won’t go beyond that."
AFPTHE BIGGER PICTURE
The World Cup-winning coach also shared his views on the challenge posed by Brazil, as he added: "We expect a match similar to the one against Uruguay. Brazil has the potential to dominate you because it is one of the biggest national teams in the world, but we will be prepared for the phases of the game where they dominate us, and very attentive to their counterattacks when we dominate. It’s a great match to show that the team is still going strong, and the idea is to put in a good performance against a great opponent. We have to find a way to play without Messi. We try to develop a system so that his absence is felt as little as possible."
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Both Messi and Neymar have pulled out of their respective squads due to injury problems. While the Argentine sustained a muscle injury, the Santos star picked up yet another knock just days after being named in Dorival Junior's initial Brazil squad.
