Eight minutes of celebrations with the people and the illusion of the national team: “We are 26 warriors”

The final whistle from Polish referee Szymon Marciniak sparked celebrations eight minutes of the national team that faces the Argentines who took one of the stands of the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium in the 2-1 defeat against Australia to advance to the quarter-finals of the Qatar World Cup. “We are 26 warriors and we will leave life as we always do,” said the nice Romero a few minutes later.

The defender, who started after overcoming the physical illness that forced him to leave the team against Mexico, said the defeat against Saudi Arabia served to make them “force and go out to play every game like a final”.

“The rival had to go out to look for play and found a rebound from Enzo. We ended up suffering but we show character, play and personality. I am very happy with this group because they have shown that they always leave the last drop of sweat,” he added about Australia.

Messi agrees in this analysis of the round of 16 match: “we could have condemned him, but they score a goal from rebounds and start throwing balls back at you. By removing what Dibu covers, we didn’t suffer and we made it through that that was the important thing”.

The captain underlined that this duel was “a difficult match”, also due to the “short rest time” after last Wednesday’s 2-0 defeat against Poland. “We were tired and it was also a very physical match. I’m happy to take the extra step,” he summed up.

Furthermore, Leo referred to the support of the public in Doha: “All of Argentina would like to be here but they can’t. The people are impressive. When we said we played every three days and that it was crazy, at the same time we wanted to be here for what it feels like. We have to stick together, now a difficult one is coming.”

The next stage, in fact, is Holland, Friday 9 at 16 at the Lusail Stadium. In this regard, Romero said: “He is a very difficult opponent and we know what kind of players they have. Now we will enjoy an hour or two and think about how we will play against the Netherlands. We are 26 warriors, we will leave life as we always have“.

Rodrigo De Paulone of the figures against Australia, highlighted the tie in Qatar 2022. “It’s football, it’s a World Cup and everything is very even. I’ve just read that it hasn’t happened in many years for someone to qualify with an ideal score, many big favorites have also been left out. More and more teams are matching up. But today in general terms we were superior. We felt comfortable and once again we had the 10 which unlocked the game,” he summed up.

Finally, he was full of praise for the fans: “I don’t want to imagine people in Argentina. I am very excited to bring some joy into homes. I was on that side too and I was a boy and when the national team played the country stopped. It’s Saturday so we give you a nice week. Here they made themselves heard again, we needed them so much.”