Being tasked with the job of marking Lionel Messi is enough to give any defender a nervous tummy, but Marquinhos went one step further.
The Paris Saint-Germain star faced the Argentinian legend already suffering with diarrhoea.
Marquinhos revealed that he took ill in the build-up to Brazil’s Copa America semi-final clash against Argentina last Tuesday.
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However, he made himself available to coach Tite and managed to play for 64 minutes, before eventually being substituted by Inter Milan’s Miranda.
The 25-year-old stopper admitted: “It was not easy, no.
“On the day of the game, I ended up suffering a virus, and I spent the day at the hotel. It was very complicated, I had diarrhoea and was vomiting.”
He added: “I still managed to play but, with the effort I put in, it worsened and eventually I had to leave the game.”
Fortunately for Marquinhos, Messi failed to get on the scoresheet as Brazil progressed to Sunday’s final – which they won 3-1 against Peru – 2-0 thanks to goals from Gabriel Jesus and Roberto Firmino.
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