France plot new plan to stop Lionel Messi after Kanté’s 2018 masterclass

15-Dec-2022 12:57:18 | The Guardian

Without midfielder from the last World Cup, Didier Deschamps must find a fresh strategy to contain Argentina’s captain

It was a job so comprehensive, so thoroughly performed to the letter, that France’s players converted it to song. “N’Golo Kanté, he’s short, he’s nice, he shut down Leo Messi but we all know he’s a cheater,” went the lyrics after their midfielder, detailed to smother Argentina’s No 10 in Kazan four years ago, barely allowed him a sniff.

Messi was given little more than an assist for Sergio Agüero’s late consolation; he would finish the afternoon gazing at his feet and suspecting a dream had gone up in smoke, while France sailed through to the quarter-finals and far beyond.