Messi praises bravery in nervy win
A RELIEVED Lionel Messi said he had not expected to suffer so much against Nigeria, but he and his Argentina teammates were always confident about winning the crucial World Cup clash that secured them a place in the last 16.
The Barcelona forward opened the scoring with a fine goal in the dramatic 2- 1 win over Nigeria on Tuesday that sent the South Americans through to the knockout stages behind Croatia in Group D.
“We already knew we were going to win, we were confident that God would help us, that all would turn out well. But we did not expect the complication of the draw, of suffering so much,” Messi told Argentine media.
After the Africans equalised through a Victor Moses penalty in the 51st minute, captain Messi said his side got “nervous”.
“We had the impression that time was going by faster. That’s the reason we started attacking and pressing more and that’s how we managed to score to go through,” he said.
Deliverance came at the 86th minute thanks to a strike from defender Marcos Rojo that secured the win.
“We made many changes, trying to create opportunities but the important thing today was the players were really brave. That courage made this result possible,” said Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli.
Argentina will need to be more consistent when facing France in the last 16, he added.
“The match against France is going to be tough as well and we need to be very coherent to win,” Sampaoli said.
Messi said they had to brace themselves for the skilled Europeans.