Prestianni Takes His Benfica Breakout to Argentina and Now Dreams of Playing Alongside Messi
Gianluca Prestianni carried his spectacular Benfica form into the Argentina national team and, after scoring his first international goal, revealed the big dream he still hopes to fulfill alongside Lionel Messi.
Gianluca Prestianni has emerged alongside Vangelis Pavlidis as one of Benfica's standout stars, and he has now carried his excellent club form into the Argentina national team, which prepared for Lionel Messi's farewell with a commanding 7-0 victory over Burkina Faso.
The Eagles forward delivered a memorable performance, scoring his first goal for Argentina while also providing an assist.
Prestianni scored Argentina's third goal before setting up Julián Álvarez for the fifth, taking his impressive Benfica form onto the international stage.
From Benfica to Argentina: Prestianni's impressive numbers
The former Vélez forward's impressive run is not limited to Argentina.
Prestianni has eight goals and three assists in 12 appearances for Benfica, numbers that have established him as one of the Eagles' standout performers alongside Pavlidis.
Now, the forward has also been able to celebrate his first senior international goal.
“I'm very happy. I still can't believe it. I'm enjoying the moment I'm going through. My family has always supported me since I was a kid, so every achievement of mine is also theirs,” Prestianni said.
Prestianni dreams of playing alongside Messi
There is, however, one special wish he still hopes to fulfill.
The former Vélez player made no secret of his desire to share the field with Lionel Messi for the first time, with the Argentina captain set for his farewell with the national team against Benin at El Monumental on Tuesday.
Prestianni has already had the opportunity to train alongside Messi, but the two have yet to share the field during a match.
“Obviously, I grew up watching him, and not seeing him with the national team anymore will be very sad for every Argentine. The coach will decide, but hopefully... it would be a dream to play alongside him. Obviously, I've trained with him, but I still haven't been able to share the field with him. Hopefully that dream comes true. A few tears will probably come out, but we'll have to wait until Tuesday.”
From Benfica's rising star to one final dream with Messi
- Prestianni has eight goals and three assists in just 12 appearances for Benfica.
- The forward scored his first Argentina goal and added an assist in the 7-0 victory over Burkina Faso.
- He now hopes to share the field with Lionel Messi in the Argentina captain's farewell against Benin.
