Fred 'wants to see Lionel Messi crying' at World Cup

Former Brazil international Fred wants to see Lionel Messi lose to his country and cry at this World Cup.

Brazil and Argentina headed to Qatar as two of the tournament favourites, and while the latter haven't quite been as good as expected, the two are still on track to meet in the semi-finals.

The iconic derby will take place on the biggest stage if Brazil beat Croatia and Argentina beat the Netherlands in their respective quarter-final clashes on Friday.

Messi losing at any point would surely be devastating for the PSG player given it's all but certain to be his last chance to win the World Cup, and Fred wants to see that devastation.

Specifically, he wants to see the 35-year-old suffer at the hands of his own country.

"I want the Brazil-Argentina semi-final. I want confusion, turmoil, Neymar's pen, Messi crying," he told ESPN.

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Fred was part of the Brazil team that was widely expected to face Messi and Argentina in the final in 2014, only to be humiliated by Germany in the semi-final, losing 7-1.

The striker was heavily criticised in the aftermath of that tournament, hosted in his country, having scored just once in six starts.

The South American side are having no such problems up top this time around with Richarlison impressing, getting three goals in three starts.