The coach of the Austrian national team, Ralf Rangnick, made comments about striker Lionel Messi, one day before the second game of the group stage of the 2026 World Cup, which pits his team against Argentina. Rangnick highlighted that "Lionel Messi probably no longer does the same amount of work as before. He likes to move to the flanks and sometimes remains in an offside position near the goal. This does not mean that Argentina play with one less player, but rather that, in the pressure after losing the ball, they have one man less. However, this makes him extremely dangerous as he can appear in free zones and we have to be prepared for that. We cannot allow too many transitions or let him get loose to receive the ball." In the first match of the group stage, Argentina, current world champions, beat Algeria with a Lionel Messi hat-trick. The 2026 Football World Cup takes place in the United States, Canada and Mexico, from June 11th to July 19th.