Harry Souttar has revealed his mum banned him from swapping shirts with Lionel Messi following his World Cup heroics with Australia.
The Stoke City defender, who switched allegiances from Scotland to Australia after previously representing the Under 19s, was a standout for the Socceroos in the Qatar tournament as he helped his nation get through the group stagesBut he couldn't prevent Messi from scoring a brilliant opener for Argentina as they finally ended Australia 's World Cup dream in the last-16 in a nail-biting 2-1 victory. And Souttar has revealed how he was instructed by his mother not to swap jerseys with anyone - even the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner.
Souttar said: "I didn't swap shirts with anyone as it was my first World Cup. So I've kept all my tops. My mum always said to me, 'I don't want to see you swapping shirts with anyone'! Lionel Messi is the best player who has ever played the game in my opinion. It was so difficult to defend against him.
"We played well but sometimes that's just what the world's best players do - they win games with that little bit of magic. But I will look back in years to come and realise how thankful I am to have played against him." Messi eventually did go on to swap shirts after the full-time whistle, with Hearts midfielder Cammy Devlin claiming the treasured keepsake.
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