Gustavo Cabral sets sights on Messi and Inter Miami

The Pachuca central defender played alongside Messi many years ago with Argentina’s Under-20s.

Erick De la RosaErickDlr29Andy HallMéxicoUpdate: Aug 2nd, 2023 15:05 EDT

David Martínez PelcastreEFE

Gustavo Cabral has set the bar high for Pachuca in the Leagues Cup. The veteran Argentine centre-back wants to face Lionel Messi in the later stages of the tournament – for that to happen both Inter Miami and the Tuzos have to advance to the quarter finals. Messi and Co. take on Orlando this evening while Pachuca, one of five Liga MX teams left in the competition, will be aiming to get past the Houston Dynamo.

In a chat with Record, Cabral explained why he is so keen to square up against his compatriot, with whom he has already shared a dressing room when both were at the start of their careers. He and Messi were team mates in Argentina’s Under-20 side. “I was lucky enough to face Messi several times – by facing him, I mean that for everything that Messi is. For me, he is the best player in the world – but not when you have to defend him out on the pitch,” the 37-year-old said.

“Just being able to enjoy watching him out on a football pitch would be great for everyone – players, the fans, the coaching staff… hopefully we can meet Inter Miami in the next round,” Cabral added.

🗣️ | 𝑮𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒗𝒐 𝑪𝒂𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒆𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒂 𝒅𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒂:➡️ Las declaraciones completas en web:https://t.co/z1PHom29iv#NacionTUSA#PachucaSomosTodos🤍💙 pic.twitter.com/bnApWE37Hs

— Club Pachuca 🌟 (@Tuzos) August 1, 2023

Words not enough to describe Miami’s No.10