15 years from now, they won’t believe me: Tagliafico
Nicolas Tagliafico was a key component of the 2022 World Cup-winning squad and the Argentina defender recently revealed bits of his experience of being part of a historic campaign in Qatar.
"It [fate] seemed to be written by someone. When I tell someone 15 years from now, they won't believe me," Tagliafico said on streaming platform Twitch following his return to France to resume club football action for Olympique de Lyon.
Tagliafico featured for the Albiceleste in their campaign opener against Saudi Arabia and lost his place to Marcos Acuna in the starting line-up following a shocking 2-1 loss. He, however, regained his position in the starting eleven against Croatia in the semi-finals, and his brilliant outing in Argentina's 3-0 victory made it an easy call for coach Lionel Scaloni to pick him against France in the title decider.
The former Ajax player recalled his thoughts from different moments on and off the pitch. He informed how Lionel Messi had relieved the pressure for his side early in the tiebreakers after 120 minutes of play had dramatically ended 3-3.
"And on penalties I grabbed Thiago Almada and when Mbappé put it in, he scared me, because generally the team that starts kicking [shoots the first spot kick] transfers the pressure to the other. Then Leo (Messi) approached it [Argentina's first kick] with all the pressure knowing we could have lost the game if he missed it.
"However, when Leo kicked, he was terribly calm. It was as if he was playing with Mateo [Messi's son] in the garden," said the 30-year-old, who chose to get married following Argentina's third World Cup triumph.
Tagliafico had also praised France for their performances in Qatar as holders.
"Going out as world champion [in 2018] and returning to a final after four years with all the injuries they had, it [France's performance] has to be applauded."
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