Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka told fans to “keep dreaming” as he prepares to lead his team against Lionel Messi’s Argentina in the World Cup quarter-finals on Saturday.
The midfielder said Switzerland’s “overarching aim” was to beat the defending champions and reach the semi-finals for the first time.
“Regarding the fans, keep dreaming. I am a person who always dreams and dreams can come true,” he told reporters in Kansas City.
“And if we want to fulfil our dreams, you need to work, you need to sweat, you need to give it 100 percent.
“And sometimes you need to do something new. You really need to push your limits if you want to beat Argentina.”
Switzerland coach Murat Yakin said he had “many solutions” to stop Messi, who is the tournament’s joint-leading scorer with eight goals.
“Tomorrow, on the pitch, we will perform as a unit,” he said. “We will try to play passes, press high against Argentina, who are the reigning champions.
“Obviously, we will try to do the work on the pitch. We can talk a lot, but in the end, it has to really translate on the pitch. And we do have our solutions.”
Xhaka admitted it was not possible to keep the marauding Messi quiet for the whole match but said his men would be “smart”.
“I don’t know if we can stop him over 90 minutes,” he said. “It is going to be difficult.
“However, we have to be very smart. We’ll have to be compact, close the gaps, not give him too many spaces. We will try, obviously, to play in position. When we have the ball, he won’t be able to act as much.”
Yakin said midfielder Johan Manzambi, who was outstanding in the group stage, would not feature against Argentina after failing to recover from injury.
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