It’s completely different – Josko Gvardiol on differences of defending against Lionel Messi when the striker is playing for the country and club

Croatia and RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol was one of the best defenders of the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar. The youngster had impressed with his play and he was the shining star of the quadrennial event.

However, the Croatian was beaten one-on-one by Lionel Messi in the all-important semi-final clash, which Le Albiceleste won by 3-0. Messi took on Gvardiol and set up a beautiful assist for Julian Alvarez to help the youngster score his second goal of the game. Messi had earlier scored a penalty spot in the same game.

Meanwhile, Gvardiol feels there is a lot of difference while defending against Messi when he is playing for the club as compared to the country.

“It was harder to defend against him than it was in our game against Paris. It’s completely different – he has a completely different profile in the club than in the national team,” the centre-back said while in conversation with BILD.

The 20-year-old feels La Pulga was extra motivated to get his hand on the prized World Cup trophy as it was the last dance for him in the showpiece event.

“Why? I think he was very motivated, it was his last chance to get something. For me, he’s the best player I’ve had to defend against so far. He’s small and all you can do is foul or tackle him,” Gvardiol said.

Meanwhile, Lionel Messi was at his best in the FIFA World Cup as he scored seven goals in the tournament, with two goals coming in the final against France. Thus, Messi was able to finally win the World Cup and complete his childhood dream.