Luis Suarez has lauded his friend and Argentina superstar Lionel Messi after booking his place in Sunday’s World Cup final.
The PSG forward inspired a dominant Albiceleste to a 3-0 victory over Croatia, scoring a penalty and then setting up Julian Alvarez’s second goal at the Lusail Stadium.
And former Barcelona teammate Suarez has pleaded with Messi to carry on showing his class on the field ahead of Sunday’s final against France or Morocco.
“Never get tired of showing that you are the best in the world,” Suarez said.
“The whole world stops to applaud this guy and what he's given to football. Incredible mate!”
Messi, meanwhile, insists “we know what we are” and has asked Argentina fans to “believe in us” after clinching a second World Cup final and a chance at redemption following defeat to Germany in 2014.
“I don’t know if it’s my best World Cup or not,” Messi said after picking up the Player of the Match. “I’ve been enjoying this a lot for a long time.
“We were confident that this group was going to pull it off. We know what we are and we ask the people to believe in us.
“Many things went through my mind. It’s very exciting to see all of this, the people, the family.
“The entire World Cup was incredible, what we experienced and now we are going for the last match, which is what we wanted.
“We have been through tough situations, other very good ones. Today, we are living something spectacular.
“I’m enjoying it with all of these people and all the Argentines that are in our country. I imagine it has to be crazy.”
While Nicolas Otamendi, at the heart of the Argentine backline, which kept out Croatia, has described the tenacity of the squad as a whole.
“We are 26 warriors who are willing to fight for the people,” said the Benfica defender.
