Croatia boss Zlatko Dalic reveals tactics to stop Lionel Messi

Croatia boss Zlatko Dalic has revealed how his side stopped Argentine talisman Lionel Messi during the World Cup in Russia. Speaking to Goal, he said, " For me, Leo Messi is the best player in the world, and he is showing that week after week." "It's harder for Messi to play for Argentina than Barcelona, and we tried to exploit what we considered small weaknesses in the Argentinian team. "The key was to be disciplined and to follow our tactical game plan fully, and our players did exactly that. We tried to stop the ball from reaching Messi and to contain him quickly in the areas where he likes to receive the ball. "As good as Messi is, football is a team sport and if one team performs better than the other it's hard for any individual to turn everything around. Croatia were just a better team than Argentina in that game."

Mauricio Pochettino sends strong message to Arsenal following Carabao Cup quarter-final