´An honour to face Messi´ says Saudi Arabia coach ahead of World Cup clash with Argentina

Lionel Messi begins his World Cup campaign on Tuesday against Saudi Arabia, whose head coach is looking forward to the challenge.

Herve Renard s men face Argentina in their Group C opener and the experienced French coach insists his team are not just in Qatar to make up the numbers.

All six of Messi s goals at previous World Cups have been scored in the group stages, while he has netted 12 times in 19 games for Paris Saint-Germain this season.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Renard said: Cristiano [Ronaldo] and Messi are football legends and thanks to them, football is different. It s an honour to be here and play against them.

When there s a fight you have to be one hundred per cent motivated to beat the best. That s the beauty of sport. In s…