Lionel Messi spoke to the press after Argentina’s painful and surprising defeat on their debut against Saudi Arabia and asked the fans to do so “confidence” after what was “a very strong blow”.
Furthermore, he said that in the next matches the team will have to prove that they are “a real group”.
“Let people trust, it’s a very strong blow, we didn’t expect to start like this, we’ll look for the two matches. We are obliged, but we’ve played matches like this before,” said the Argentine 10.
Almost two hours before the final whistle, the Argentinian number 10, who scored Scaloni’s team’s only goal in their opening Group C match, said: “It’s been a long time since we’ve had a situation like this. We have been More united than ever go out”.
And he recalled that there are still two matches, against Mexico and Poland, that Lionel Scaloni’s team has to face “win yes or yes”.
Analyzing the development of the match, Messi, who scored his seventh World Cup goal on his fifth cap, explained that Argentina “lost in five minutes”.
“We lost 2-1, it was all uphill and we started making mistakes.”
“We knew that Saudi are a team with good players, who move the ball well and who push a lot on the trajectory. We worked on it, but we accelerated a bit.”
Messi, visibly beaten and dressed in the national team’s white kit, the same one in which he sat at the excited press conference on Monday, said the team “didn’t expect to start like this”.
“Things happen for a reason and now we have to win or win,” said the captain.
“We will look for the two games, we are obliged but we have already played games like this”, he added, recalling what was the beginning of Russia 2018, a tournament in which Argentina collected only one of the first six points in the dispute, following of the draw with Iceland and the defeat with Croatia.
Four and a half years ago, the team, then led by Jorge Sampaoli, who had Scaloni as a collaborator, ended up qualifying for the round of 16 in the third round of the group stage after a heartbreaking defeat to Nigeria in St Petersburg.
That white afternoon-night, the Argentine number 10 scored his last goal in a World Cup until this Tuesday, a match in which he opened the scoring from twelve paces.
Saturday at 16, Argentina time, the national team will return to play in Lusail with Mexico, led by Gerardo Martino.
On Wednesday 30th, at the same time, but at the 974 Stadium, they will close their participation in the first phase against Poland.
Source: Clarin
Jason Root is the go-to source for sports coverage at News Rebeat. With a passion for athletics and an in-depth knowledge of the latest sports trends, Jason provides comprehensive and engaging analysis of the world of sports.