Javier Mascherano has said he isn’t thinking about the prospect of winning the World Cup, instead taking each game as it comes.
The Barcelona man is part of the Argentina side that has reached the Round of 16, with a fixture against Switzerland to come on Tuesday.
He said at a Press conference that to look past the Swiss would be dangerous as the tournament has proven how the less-fancied teams can upset the favourites.
“I hope [to win the World Cup] but I don’t want to look that far. It would be a mistake,” AS reports Mascherano as saying.
“We can’t have our heads so far forward. The most important game is the next.
“Costa Rica showed us that you don’t need to be a power to come first in one of the groups of death.
“England, Italy, Spain and Portugal are all out. Football has evolved a lot and everything is very even.”
Mascherano added that the Argentina team are united in search of winning the World Cup and that it isn’t only Lionel Messi who wants to make a mark on the competition.
“We are all looking to do something important. But I won’t project us too far forward because we have a tough game ahead and we need to set short goals,” he added.
“But we all have the same dream yet we know the most important game is the next. We can’t focus our energies into something later because we don’t know if we’ll get there.
“Leo is our leader, he is the banner of the national team, and it is he who will step forward and lead the way.”
