{"id":6290,"date":"2026-07-18T04:34:25","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T04:34:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=6290"},"modified":"2026-07-18T04:34:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T04:34:25","slug":"lionel-messi-speaks-in-advance-of-world-cup-final-says-argentina-will-give-it-our-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=6290","title":{"rendered":"Lionel Messi speaks in advance of World Cup final, says Argentina \u2018will give it our all\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 The lineup of sports legends simultaneously on the stage at Fanatics Fest on Friday night was almost absurd. There was Tom Brady, the greatest Super Bowl champion of all time. There was Novak Djokovic, the winner of more men\u2019s Grand Slam tennis tournaments than anyone else. There was Kevin Durant, the only four-time Olympic gold medalist in men\u2019s basketball history.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=6288\">Max Muncy hits 2-run homer off Gerrit Cole in 7th to lift Dodgers over Yankees 2-1 in series opener<\/a><\/p>\n<p>And before they left, they all got a selfie with Lionel Messi.<\/p>\n<p>Let that be the latest proof of Messi\u2019s power: Even the biggest stars in the sports universe clearly enjoy a chance to be around the best soccer player of all-time. They\u2019ll all be watching Sunday \u2014 along with probably 1.5 billion other people worldwide \u2014 when Messi and Argentina face Spain in the World Cup final.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe will give it our all,\u201d Messi said.<\/p>\n<p>The star-studded news conference was expected to be Messi\u2019s last public appearance before Sunday\u2019s final in East Rutherford, New Jersey. FIFA decided to use Fanatics Fest \u2014 a four-day celebration of sports in New York, replete with autograph signings and celebrity appearances \u2014 as the backdrop for its preview news conferences, meaning hundreds of people got the chance to get a glimpse of Messi in the sort of setting not usually open to the public.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt goes beyond words what Messi means as a player and what he means for Argentina,\u201d Spain captain Rodri said. \u201cObviously, for me, he\u2019s the greatest of all times.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The idea for the appearance by Messi and the other players and coaches from Argentina and Spain was simple: Instead of having traditional media asking questions, the stars got to do the asking.<\/p>\n<p>Brady probed Messi about a remarkable photo that has gone viral this week of him bathing a cute baby boy who grew up to be Spain star Lamine Yamal \u2014 \u201cWhat a crazy picture,\u201d Messi said. Djokovic asked Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni about dealing with pressure, then posed a version of that same question to Messi.<\/p>\n<p>And when Messi finished, Djokovic simply said, \u201cGracias, Leo.\u201d Djokovic then asked Spain coach Luis de la Fuente and captain Rodri about staying calm in big moments, before Brady asked Messi about the infamous photo with Yamal, and Rodri about what he\u2019ll say to teammates before Sunday\u2019s final. Durant then came out, asking Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez about what it would mean to win back-to-back World Cups.<\/p>\n<p>The Argentina and Spain sides, to their credit, seemed to enjoy the show. The World Cup final is a spectacle, and so was the preview event.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=6286\">Scheffler rues missed putts but happy with his game after tee-to-green clinic at the British Open<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s one more game,\u201d Scaloni said. \u201cWe cannot really think about the fact that it\u2019s a World Cup final.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It was not the easiest of roads for Argentina to get back to the final, even though the defending champions (7-0-0) are the only unbeaten and untied team left in the tournament; Spain (6-0-1) drew its opening match against Cape Verde.<\/p>\n<p>Argentina had to rally from a 1-0 second-half deficit to beat England in the semifinals, had to rally from a 2-0 second-half deficit to beat Egypt in the Round of 16, and got taken to extra time by both Cape Verde (in the round of 32) and Switzerland (in the quarterfinals).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve said many times: We never stop fighting,\u201d Messi said.<\/p>\n<p>With that, the defending champions got their ticket to New York. And when Messi walked onto that stage Friday, not many of those who were jammed inside the theater applauded \u2014 since they were holding their phones instead, hoping to capture images of the moment.<\/p>\n<p>Messi knew what they wanted. He smiled and waved. They roared.<\/p>\n<p>When the event wrapped up, everyone \u2014 the players, the coaches, actor and comedian Kevin Hart, rapper and producer Travis Scott, England great Rio Ferdinand, Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin and more \u2014 gathered for that selfie with the fans in the background.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSunday is going to be a great show,\u201d Scaloni said.<\/p>\n<p>It seemed like Messi may have taken a quick look at the case holding the trophy before he departed. Either way, it\u2019s not like he needs a reminder of what\u2019s at stake. No team has won back-to-back World Cups since Brazil in 1958 and 1962, and Messi now has a chance to add one more accomplishment to his already overstuffed resume.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve got a group of players and a group of coaches that are working incredibly hard every single day to try to bring happiness to my country,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to give absolutely our best, with Leo, with the team that we have, to bring the World Cup back to my country and celebrate with our people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=6284\">DeChambeau gets 2-shot penalty in dramatic late-night British Open ruling<\/a><\/p>\n<p>___<\/p>\n<p>\n                See more of AP\u2019s World Cup coverage here\n              <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 The lineup of sports legends simultaneously on the stage at Fanatics&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6289,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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