On August 23, St. Pauli’s new signing Metcalfe, in an interview with Australian media aleagues, spoke about his match against Messi in Beijing.
Following the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Metcalfe played two friendly matches for Australia in March and faced Messi’s Argentina team in June, with the match in Beijing being unforgettable for Metcalfe, who came on as a substitute for the last 17 minutes.
Metcalfe: “It was special; I always wanted to face Messi. It was crazy, there were around 50,000 fans at the stadium, but all you could see were number 10 jerseys.”
Metcalfe: “I’m not joking, we received applause during our warm-up, but when Argentina came out to warm up, it might have been the loudest cheering I’ve ever heard in my life, it was insane.”
Metcalfe: “Every little thing Messi did would drive them crazy; just tying his shoelaces would make the crowd scream, he ignited the entire stand.”
Metcalfe: “For me personally, growing up watching Messi’s highlights, and now being able to play against him, it felt surreal. Of course, playing against other players was also incredible, even though we lost the match, I still felt very happy, and my parents were extremely proud of me.”