Hope Powell might rate Diego Maradona as a better player than Lionel Messi, but she would rather manage the Barcelona star.

Last night saw both Messi and Maradona take centre stage: Messi’s fantastic opening goal set Argentina on their way to a vital win against Nigeria, whilst Maradona was shown celebrating on television in an interesting fashion.

The former Lionesses boss was appearing as the guest on Yahoo Sport’s daily World Cup show, The 32, and believes Messi’s demeanour would make him a far easier player to manage.

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“Not the Maradona of yesterday!” she joked, when asked the question.

“[It’s a ] difficult one. Maradona, for me, was a fantastic player and had more impact in games than Messi does.

“In terms of management, probably Messi because he’s calmer and easier. Tough decision, though, really tough.”

She also believes that Messi, who netted one goal in the group stages, is already out of the Golden Boot race.

Harry Kane currently leads the standings with five goals, despite playing a game less than the Argetinian maestro.

“He’s too far behind. And five goals in a tournament for Harry Kane and there is more to come from him,” she added.

“He’s in with a good chance of getting the golden boot and Messi is definitely out of the running.”