FIFA Club World Cup: Porto boss reveals plan to thwart master craftsman Messi

Porto coach Martín Anselmi has spoken of his respect for Lionel Messi and revealed the gameplan he will use against the Argentinian legend’s Inter Miami side.

The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup Group C rivals meet at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta this weekend with every game of the tournament shown live on DAZN.

Messi is universally regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation and played 90 minutes in the Herons’ opening 0-0 draw against Al Ahly of Egypt on June 15.

Miami boss Javier Mascherano has since denied Messi could miss the Porto clash with a leg injury and his counterpart Anselmi is preparing for the best of the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner.

“I always thought about how to prepare a game against Messi,” said the Porto chief.

Mohamed Tageldin / Middle East Images via AFP

“Now, our approach is to focus on ourselves, recover physically, and work on regaining possession.

“The more we control the ball, the less danger Messi and Inter Miami can pose.”

Anselmi has acknowledged of importance of claiming three points against the MLS as Porto bid to reach the knockout stages.

He added: “In a tournament format with just three matches, every game counts.

“Without a good result, qualification becomes difficult. Even if we perform well in this game, we still need to do so in the final group match.

The Porto manager said that some European teams, including his own side, struggle to hit their stride post-break, while South American squads often thrive as they are mid-season in prime condition.

He added: “Not all the so-called stronger teams have stood out here. We know what we want.

“Against Palmeiras, we lacked the rhythm we were hoping for.

“Coming off a break is very different from continuous competition, but we have focused on recovering our players in recent days and will keep doing so.”

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