After opening his World Cup account on Tuesday at the expense of Nigeria, the Argentina is being tipped to sparkle in the last 16
Lionel Messi is a "genius" and Argentina must make their World Cup last-16 tie against France as easy as possible for their captain, says coach Jorge Sampaoli.
Messi opened the scoring in a 2-1 defeat of Nigeria that sent Argentina through to the knockout rounds, Sampaoli's side bouncing back from a 3-0 thumping dealt out by Croatia.
Didier Deschamps said France will aim to "neutralise" Messi on Saturday, while captain Hugo Lloris pegged the Barcelona star as the potential matchwinner for Argentina.