Roque Santa Cruz believes that Lionel Messi should win a title with Argentina if he wants to fulfill expectations of fans.
Former Paraguay international Roque Santa Cruz has stated that Barcelona forward Lionel Messi should win a title with Argentina if he intends to meet the fans’ expectations. He believes that the player who is recognized as a world-class player with Barcelona need to win at least a trophy with his national team if he wants to be accepted at home.
Many Argentina fans believe that Lionel Messi has yet to replicate his form with the national team, but Roque Santa Cruz does not agree with this statement. He said that Messi has always played well with Argentina, but it is the fans pressure that makes it appear this way. For him, the only solution for Lionel Messi is to win a trophy with Argentina so as to fulfill their wishes.
Messi has played in 2 finals so far with Argentina but has yet to win any of them. He was present in the 2014 World Cup final and the 2015 Copa America and both time Argentina lost the match. He will be hoping for another outcome at the Copa America Centenario where Argentina is again among one of the favorites to lift the trophy.
Roque Santa Cruz, who has not been selected by Paraguay for this tournament, said that his team has a very strong team. He believes that there is a strong team spirit and that each player is determined to win the trophy. For him, this is the best Paraguay team for quite some time, and it is natural to have some big expectations.
For him, Argentina is one of the favorite to win the Copa America, but he also believes that Brazil is not far behind despite having some troubles recently.