Ottmar Hitzfeld: 'No plans for Lionel Messi'

Switzerland coach Ottmar Hitzfeld has revealed that he has no special plans to deal with Lionel Messi when his side faces Argentina in the last 16 of the World Cup.

The two nations meet in Sao Paulo on Tuesday with a quarter-final encounter against either Belgium or the USA at stake.

Messi has scored four goals in three games at the tournament so far, but Hitzfeld believes that Argentina have plenty of other players who also need to be taken care of.

"Man-to-man marking against Messi? No," he told Blick. "I don't dream about Messi. I enjoy him when I see him play football. I am a fan of him, like everybody who likes football.

"However, nothing he does on Tuesday will be able to inspire me, regardless of how successful he is."

Switzerland made it through to the second round of the tournament by finishing in second place in Group E.