With the Netherlands set to take on Argentina in the second 2022 FIFA World Cup quarter-final on Friday, Oranje boss Louis van Gaal has revealed he has a plan to deal with Lionel Messi.
The two sides will meet for the sixth time in the competition when they face each other at the Lusail Stadium for a spot in the semi-finals later this week.
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Their last meeting came in the semis of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, when Argentina emerged victorious from a penalty shootout after a 0-0 draw during regular and extra-time.
On Friday, the Albiceleste are expected to once again rely on their captain Messi, who is the side's leading marksman at the tournament with three goals, while he also has an assist in the four games he has played so far in Qatar.
Pressed on how he plans to deal with the threat posed by the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner, Van Gaal revealed that he has an idea of how his side will go about stopping the 35-year-old.
"Messi is the most dangerous creative player, he is able to create a lot and to score goals himself. But when they lose the ball he doesn't participate much, this gives us chances," the Netherlands manager said, according to EuroSport.
Asked directly what his tactic to stop the Argentine icon will be, the Dutchman added: "You will see on Friday. I won't tell you."
However, FC Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong, who spent two seasons playing with Messi at the Camp Nou, feels there is no one way of stopping the Albiceleste skipper.
"I know him, but I don't know how to stop him. He's been making the difference for 15 years and there is not one way to stop him," he said.
"Usually he would still make the difference during training too. We just have to stop him as a team.
"We haven't texted each other. I am not planning to. We will see each other on Friday."
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Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk added: "It is an honour to play against him [Messi].
"It is not me against him, or the Netherlands against him, but the Netherlands against Argentina.
"No one can do it on his own, we will have to come up with a good plan.
"The difficult thing about him is when we are attacking, he is chilling somewhere in a corner or something.
"You have to be so very sharp in terms of defensive organisation. They always looked for him to try to make it difficult for us on the counter."
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