Messi confident in his World Cup prospects with Argentina

After winning a second consecutive La Liga title with Barcelona, striker Lionel Messi arrived Tuesday in Argentina and interpreted the World Cup as a "perfect chance." Messi, arguably the best player in the world based on his performances with Barcelona, has been the target of strong criticism in Argentina for his conspicuous failure to play at anywhere near that level with the national team. "I'll give my answer on the pitch in the World Cup. It will be the perfect chance to show that I can do with Argentina what I do with Barcelona," he said. "I'm going to try to do my best. Diego (Maradona) always looked after me, but I don't think he'll have built the team for me," Messi said with reference to Argentina's coach. Messi arrived at Ezeiza airport near Buenos Aires with his fellow-Argentine friend Gabriel Milito, who also plays for Barca but is set to miss the World Cup. Like Maradona a few days earlier, Messi noted that the time until their World Cup opener - on June 12 against Nigeria in Johannesburg - will be useful "to unite the group." Messi, Europe's top scorer this season, said Argentina is a candidate to lift the World Cup trophy despite a poor qualifying round. "Nobody regards us as favourites because of how we got to the World Cup. That's good for us too," he stressed. "Pressure does not affect me. I play for Barcelona, which is one of the biggest teams in the world," he noted.