An Argentine was happy after the loss to Saudi Arabia

Diego Vain, 31, was the rare Argentine to smile this Tuesday (22). He left the Lusail stadium exultant, sending messages to family members in South America. He had gotten a photo taken with his idol Lionel Messi.

The target of his idolatry returned to concentration much less excited. She had no convincing explanations to give. Argentina had just been beaten 2-1 by Saudi Arabia. In theory, the weakest team in Group C.

Vain (“Diego as Maradona”, he says) asked Messi for the photo when the striker was in the final meters of the mixed zone, a space in which athletes pass close to reporters and can be interviewed. The captain of the national team stopped for a few seconds and posed next to the journalist, without smiling.

“Tomorrow [quarta-feira] it’s my birthday. This is a great gift”, said the reporter/fan, who knew the risk of having his credential confiscated for having asked for the photo. This is not allowed by FIFA rules.

“If they took her away from me, fine,” he said. His goal was already achieved.

If Vain’s goal was a photo with Messi, the ambition of his country’s star is much greater. He arrived in Qatar dreaming of the world title. He said he had that hope and confidence in the team, which opened the World Cup with a 36-match unbeaten run. The last setback had been against Brazil, in the semifinals of the 2019 Copa América.

“It’s time to turn the page and not think about it anymore. We have to think about positive things and think about Mexico. We always said that we would have to win every game, and now it’s more than ever”, analyzed the number 10, referring to next Saturday’s opponent (26).

Messi lamented the goals disallowed for offside. In the first half, Argentina had three. One of them, scored by Lautaro Martínez, was invalidated by VAR after being considered legal initially. Goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez also complained.

Lionel was so lost that he offered a strange opinion that the Argentine goal, scored by himself from the penalty spot ten minutes into the first half, “happened too soon”.

“It confused us. We didn’t play our best game and we didn’t show the performance we’ve been getting for a long time,” he said.

Journalists waited for more than an hour for the chance to hear his thoughts. The player spoke for four minutes. Surrounded by the advisor of the AFA (Argentine Football Association) and by a FIFA official, he made a slight expression of boredom at times for having to repeat answers he had already given. The tone of the responses was calm, monotonous, devoid of emotion. As Lionel Messi interviews usually are.

Not even in a defeat as surprising as this one, which could have devastating effects on Argentina’s world dream, did he get angry in public. He preferred to ask the Argentine fan for confidence.

“The message is one of tranquility. We know that defeat hurts, but we have to keep trusting. It was a very hard blow because we didn’t think it could happen, but this group has always stood out for its unity, and it’s time for us to be more united than ever before. ever,” he declared.

Journalist for the daily El Territorio, published in the province of Misiones, in southwest Argentina, Diego trusts. So much so that he has a Messi tattoo on one of his calves. The player, captain and national team star may have left disappointed. Even a little shaken.

But it made an Argentinean happy, who sent the photo to family and friends with the message: “Look at this image!”