Brazil and Argentina will face off for the first time since the Copa America final. Ahead of the matchup, Felipe Melo spoke to TyC Sports (via Marca) and touched on various topics, including the rivalry between Argentines and Brazilians.
One of the specific questions that the Argentine media outlet asked is about how to stop Lionel Messi. Furthermore, the midfielder spoke about the dirty tackle that the Argentine forward sustained during Argentina’s FIFA World Cup Qualifying fixture.
Melo stated that perhaps playing a bit dirty could know Messi off his game.
“To stop Messi, I have to elbow him in the head. What am I going to do with Messi? There is nothing to do; he is from another planet,” Melo said, laughing. “Never break it, no, those players cannot be injured. They do football good.”
Brazil will try to stop Messi this weekend as the two heavyweights in South American football meet in the second match of these latest round of World Cup Qualifying fixtures.
They’ll look to get this win in the rematch and continue this undefeated run during the qualifying rounds against their CONMEBOL opponents. Argentina hopes to catch up to Brazil in the standings as the Seleção stands atop the standings.