Argentina’s main player, Lionel Messi, celebrated the victory against Poland by 2-0, which left the South American team at the top of Group C. “We took an important step and fulfilled the first objective, which was to come out first [no grupo]”, he commented after the match at the 974 Stadium in Doha.
But the Argentine number 10 had his moment of great tension, when he missed a penalty that he himself conceded in the first half, saved by Szczesny. “I felt very angry [Messi usa o termo ‘bronca’ em espanhol] for having missed the penalty, because a goal there would change the match. But the team came out stronger,” he said.
“People banked on me, we played a great match and a great game. After the first goal it was all ours and we went back to being what we were a long time ago and what we’ve been looking for since the beginning of the Cup”, he commented.
This is not the first time Messi has missed a penalty in the group stage of a World Cup. In 2018, the star also missed a penalty in the duel against Iceland in his debut, which ended in a 1-1 draw.
The player praised the strength of the group in the victory and did not want to make a prediction against Australia, rival of the round of 16, despite the wide favoritism. “The match against Australia will be complicated. Anyone can beat anyone, everything is equal. Let’s start preparing for the match tomorrow in the best possible way, as we always do,” he said.
Argentina and Australia will play on the first day of the round of 16, this Saturday (3), at 4 pm, at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium.
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