39-year-old was overcome with emotion after the final whistle, shedding tears as teammates celebrated with him on the pitch
Lionel Messi has admitted he cried because he feared he had let Argentina down after missing an early penalty before inspiring the holders’ dramatic 3-2 comeback victory over Egypt to send them into the World Cup quarter-finals.
The Argentina captain saw his first-half spot-kick saved with his side trailing 1-0, and Egypt later doubled their advantage before the world champions mounted an unlikely recovery. Cristian Romero started the fightback, Messi levelled with seven minutes remaining and Enzo Fernandez headed the winner in stoppage time to complete one of the tournament’s most remarkable turnarounds.
The 39-year-old was overcome with emotion after the final whistle, shedding tears as teammates celebrated with him on the pitch after keeping alive Argentina’s hopes of retaining the World Cup.
Messi said his equaliser brought relief, and then the tears, after the disappointment of his missed penalty.
“The truth is that it was a moment of release, a release for all of us,” Messi said. “I was feeling intense anger because of the penalty I wasted, and because of the way I took it. I felt like in that important moment, I had let the team down.
“But fortunately, God had something special in store for me once again in the end, and I was able to score the equaliser.
“That was a huge release, and immense joy for us, and for those fans who came again and prove every day what it means to be Argentine, and how much pride they give us.”
Manager Lionel Scaloni also struggled to contain his emotions and praised the mentality that carried his team back into the contest after appearing close to elimination.
“I’m very emotional, the players call me the crybaby,” Scaloni said. “I even teared up in the dressing room. But the players also feel many emotions, they are playing for their country, but this was unforgettable and one of the best moments.
“Messi showed it too. I don’t know if the emotion is on the same level as the World Cup final, I can’t be in Messi’s head, but he plays football for moments like this. He loves playing, feeling the ball, feeling the emotion and we want him to enjoy this for every final moment because once you retire, you regret it for the rest of your life.
“I don’t know how many times you have this feeling of a team that never gives up in adversity, but that is this team and sometimes tactics are forgotten and you just go for it.”
