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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Sean Bradbury

Jamie Carragher fires ruthless dig at Gary Neville over Lionel Messi comment

Argentina bounced back to World Cup 2022 contention tonight with a 2-0 win over Mexico. Lionel Messi's stunning opener enlivened a dull affair before Enzo Fernandez added a sublime second.

The South American giants got off to an awful start in the tournament with a shock 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia, but will now be confident of securing a spot in the last 16.

Debate has raged over their talisman Messi and whether he will be able to lead them to World Cup glory in Qatar.

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Speaking at half time tonight, live on ITV when the score was 0-0, Gary Neville questioned the "demeanour" of the PSG star and added: "Players aren't fearful of Lionel Messi anymore."

Shortly after the final whistle, Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher could not resist chipping in given the incredible Messi strike that followed Neville's words.

Carragher tweeted Neville's 'players aren't fearful' quote and remarked: "My mate @GNev2 is having as bad a tournament as Infantino!"

In post-match punditry, Neville watched Messi's goal back and added: "It is moments now. He gets that space, he stands still. The power, the accuracy is wonderful."

And Neville, to his credit, was quick to fire back at Carragher when the ITV cameras stopped rolling. He took to Twitter and posted a screenshot of a story with the headline: "Lionel Messi 'called Jamie Carragher a donkey' in furious private message".

The ex-Manchester United man also told Carra he was having a better World Cup than "you back home with no one to work for!" To which Carragher simply replied with an image of Neville on the couch with Richard Keys, John Terry and Andy Gray.

Argentina's final group match is against Poland next Wednesday. A win for Messi and his team-mates would likely sew up top spot and would certainly secure progression to the knockout phase.

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