Captain says team “playing well and playing badly”; Scaloni: “I will talk to the players about the negative”
Lionel Messi has said Argentina must improve despite reaching the World Cup last 16 after a hard-fought 3-2 extra-time victory over Cape Verde, admitting his side produced too many mistakes in Miami.
The holders needed an own goal from Diney Borges in extra time to end Cape Verde’s resistance and secure a sixth successive appearance in the round of 16. Argentina will now face Egypt on Tuesday in Atlanta.
“Today, we put in a huge effort, as always, playing well and playing badly, just like we always say,” Messi said after the match.
“But I think the important thing now is to rest, think about what’s coming next and try to take positives from today’s game. Beyond just qualifying, I think there are positives because we did some good things, and we also need to correct the bad ones, which I think were many today as well.”
Messi gave Argentina the lead with another superb finish before Cape Verde fought back to force extra time. Argentina regained the advantage only for Sidny Lopes Cabral to level again with a spectacular strike, before Cristian Romero’s header was turned into his own net by Borges to settle the tie.
Messi praised Cape Verde’s display and said Argentina had expected a difficult evening against a side that had already impressed during the tournament.
“We knew it was going to be a very tough match; this team hadn’t lost to Spain and Uruguay for a reason,” he said. “We did the hardest part, which was finding the first goal.
“We thought that from then on, we would start to find our game and be more relaxed, but it was the complete opposite. We lost the ball, we sat back, we couldn’t pressure them well, and they struck with their strengths. We knew it was going to be difficult; this is a knockout tournament, and nobody gives you anything for free.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy at all, and that’s what this World Cup, in particular, is all about. It’s very evenly matched, very complicated, and every game is going to be extremely difficult.”
Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni backed up his captain in praising Cape Verde for their competitiveness.
“There is no easy rival,” Scaloni said. “Congratulations to Cape Verde. I will talk to the players about the negative, but we take away the positive, which is we never let our arms down.”
