Andries Noppert has revealed how his attempt to psych out Lionel Messi in the World Cup completely backfired on him. Messi, who had an incredible World Cup 2022, had faced the Netherlands in the quarterfinals of the tournament. In what was an extremely hard-fought victory for Argentina, the game witnessed 48 fouls and 15 bookings.
During his appearance on De Cor Potcast, Dutch goalkeeper Andries Noppert explained how he tried to play mind games with Lionel Messi. After Argentina had grabbed an early lead through Nahuel Molina’s goal, they were given a penalty in the 73rd minute. As Lionel stepped up to take the shot, Noppert tried to psych out Messi.
🗣Andries Noppert(Netherlands Goalkeeper) to @corpotcast :
“I tried to say something to Messi in English before his penalty in the World Cup. He said something back to me in Spanish, but he spoke so fast i think he said : ‘Yeah, just get back to your line, this isn’t working’,… pic.twitter.com/haxZsTao05
— PSG Chief (@psg_chief) September 29, 2023
He revealed, “I tried to say something to Messi in English before his penalty in the World Cup. He said something back to me in Spanish, but he spoke so fast I think he said: ‘Yeah, just get back to your line, this isn’t working’, so I walked back“. However, Noppert’s tricks yielded no result, as Messi confidently scored from the penalty, sending the Dutch keeper the wrong way.
Louis van Gaal has claimed that Lionel Messi and Argentina’s World Cup win in Qatar was “premeditated” 👀🏆 pic.twitter.com/PZJMnD8cad
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) September 5, 2023
During the shootout, Noppert again proved to be no match for Messi, as the latter again scored from the spot. Most recently, the then-Dutch coach Louis Van Gaal took a brutal dig at Argentina’s World Cup 2022 campaign, calling it scripted. However, the Dutch players, headed by skipper Virgil Van Dijk, have denounced Van Gaal’s comments about Messi and Argentina’s World Cup win.
Andries Noppert falls short in his World Cup challenge to Lionel Messi
In the buildup to the Argentina versus the Netherlands quarterfinal, Andries Noppert had taken shots against Lionel Messi. During a pre-match press conference, Noppert was asked about the possibility of a penalty shootout. However, the SC Heerenveen shot-stopper appeared to be unfazed about facing one of the greatest players of all time.
Playing down the threat of Lionel Messi, Noppert refused to be scared of Messi’s extra-terrestrial abilities. Labeling the Argentine skipper as “human“, Noppert issued a challenge, claiming that he would save Messi’s penalty kick. However, things didn’t go according to Noppert’s plan, as he twice fell short in front of Messi from the spot kick.
Not only Noppert but also Louis Van Gaal had downplayed Argentina before their quarterfinal clash. The 72-year-old coach even claimed that he had devised a plan to stop Messi and Argentina. However, it was Messi’s Argentina that had the last laugh against the Netherlands.
