Scaloni admits fatigue over constant chatter about star player

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni admitted to being fatigued by the endless questions around the regular record-breaking feats of Lionel Messi after seeing his captain become the World Cup's all-time leading scorer on Monday.

The Inter Miami player's double in the 2-0 win over Austria took him to 18 World Cup goals, surpassing both Miroslav Klose's men's record of 16 and Marta's overall tournament mark of 17 to claim sole possession of the all-time record.

"When the team was having a rough time without the ball, he worked and managed to steal the ball," Scaloni said of his former teammate. "You could see his level of commitment.

"There's a reason for that, he has commitment and this is what he generates. I have no more words to talk about Leo. It makes us a little bit tired talking about him all the time."

After Messi opened the scoring, Argentina was rarely troubled, with goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez making one save of note before Messi's determination secured his second goal five minutes into stoppage time.

"It had been complex," Scaloni said of the challenge presented by Ralf Rangnick's side. "We had the peace of mind we needed toward the end. I'm so happy with Leo's performance, he scored again when we were struggling.

"The team did suffer today, at times they were creating difficulties and we didn't have possession. We know how to suffer and that's something praiseworthy as a team.

"This was an opponent that had very tall players, that posed a challenge. No one thought this would be easy."

Back-to-back wins have already confirmed Argentina's progress into the knockout rounds and Scaloni remains confident the defending champion will be a contender at the business end of the tournament.

"This World Cup has nothing to do with playing favorites, or the players in the national teams," he said. "There are other elements at play, the levels of fitness and the emotional element.

"There are so many teams that can win, one of the big ones will win. We will be there, we will be one of the contenders, but it will be hard facing one of these big teams.

"But," he added, "it will be hard for them facing us."

REUTERS