‘I’m angry’ – Messi reflects on penalty ‘mistake’ and looks ahead to ‘another World Cup’ in knockout rounds

Argentina captain Lionel Messi was angry at missing a penalty against Poland but is looking ahead after still seeing his team qualify for the last 16. 

​Argentina beat PolandMessi misses penaltyIs angry at his mistake

WHAT HAPPENED? Messi shared his thoughts after Argentina’s 2-0 win over Poland at the World Cup. The captain missed a penalty in the first half, setting an unwanted record in the process, but saw team-mates Alexis Mac Allister and Julian Alvarez score to fire Lionel Scaloni’s side into the knockout stages as group winners.

WHAT THEY SAID: “I’m angry for having missed the penalty, but the team came out stronger after my mistake. We knew that once the first goal went in, it would change the game and they would open up,” he told reporters. “The previous game gave us a lot of peace of mind and we went out onto the field thinking we had to win.”
AND WHAT’S MORE: Messi also spoke about his team’s chances after safely making it through to the last 16 as group winners. “The match against Australia is going to be very difficult. Anyone beats anyone, everything is very even,” he added. “We have to prepare the game in the best way as we always do.We must be calm and go game by game. Now another World Cup begins and hopefully we can continue to maintain what we did today.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Argentina have recovered from their shock defeat to Saudi Arabia to progress as group winners and will be favourites to beat Australia and reach the quarter-finals. La Albiceleste will then face either the Netherlands or the USA in the quarter-finals.

IN THREE PHOTOS:

DID YOU KNOW? Messi is the oldest player on record (since 1966) to create 5+ chances and make 5+ dribbles in a World Cup match, with the previous oldest being Diego Maradona against Nigeria in 1994.

WHAT NEXT FOR ARGENTINA: La Albiceleste go on to play Australia in the last 16 on Sunday.