Karpen: No Need to Focus on Stopping Messi in Potential Russia vs. Argentina Match

The head coach of the Russian national team, **Valery Karpin**, commented on whether he will set the goal for his team to contain **Lionel Messi** during the match against Argentina.

«If this [match] happens, it would be fantastic. No one knows how to contain Messi. Not the French national team, nor the Spanish team. Nobody has the answer to how to stop such a top player like Messi. What does that have to do with Osipenko? Perhaps it’s not necessary to try to contain Messi at all,» Karpin’s words were reported by TASS.

Earlier, there were reports about a potential match between the Russian and Argentine national teams, but the Russian Football Union has not confirmed this. It is expected that the Russian team will play six matches in the fall, as indicated by the head of the RFU, Maxim Mitrofanov.