Lionel Messi spoke about his penalty miss for Argentina against Austria at the World Cup.
Messi took a penalty for Argentina in their 2-0 win against Austria and his effort went wide of the goal. The Argentine would score two goals after his miss in the match. Speaking to the media after the match, here is what he had to say about his miss:
“It was tough because I hit it really badly. I hesitated a lot, many things went through my head at that moment. I had planned to do one thing and ended up doing something else. More than anything, that’s why I was so upset because I didn’t end up doing what I had planned.”
Argentina vs Austria:
1) Very good win against a solid, physically strong with good height team.
2) Best argentine defender lisandro Martinez. Today also solid. His through ball to Nico Gonzalez was exceptional.
3) Another defender facundo Medina was also exceptional. Strong, solid, reliable. He only need to keep calm.
4) Nico Gonzalez two subline cameo role. Argentina will need him more as the tournament progress.
5) Thiago Almada after poor 1st match improve Very much.
6) Poor game from Rodrigo de Paul.
7) We will need our two center forward more as the world cup progress ( lautaro Martinez & Julian Alvarez)
8) We lack some creativity and I think lo celso could be useful here. He has both creative and defensive ability
9) Lionel Messi. Nothing more to say .Greatest player of all time…
10) Where is Csabalala. I am missing him Very much.He always talk positively which I liked very much.
Lastly it is important to have progress slowly as the tournament grow.
Argentina had a good start in the group stage, but they still have plenty of room for improvement—especially when it comes to reducing their dependency on Messi. The true test will definitely come against the stronger teams in the knockout rounds.
Those who believe Austria was an easy opponent may be overlooking the significant advancements in modern football. Today’s teams are exceptionally well-coached, meaning there are no truly “easy” matches anymore. I observed that Argentina maintained control of the game, even without consistently possessing the ball. I am optimistic that our team will continue to improve as the tournament progresses.
Fully agree Godin, with the 24 hour non stop coaching in todays modern world, you need to outclass your opponent, and Argentina is doing that perfectly
Agree too. Most of the teams here are here on merit – they qualified through matches within their respective continents but nowdays the gap between continents have narrowed considerably (cue Cabo Verde, Curacao, Asian teams, “2nd tier” Euro teams). On a day they are on form and luckier than you or we just can’t connect on the pitch, it’s backs to the wall stuff and we need to have that extra edge, guile, skill and experience to overcome them and win the match.
So far, I like the way they are controlling matches staying compact, ceding space and possession without letting the opponent do too much. Stepping up a gear or two when the ball’s and momentum’s in our favour.
Concern is these teams are not the strong teams thus far. Will need to evolve and tweak strategy and tatics come the latter stages against the stronger luckier teams. Have faith in Scaloni! We will be able to improve and step up the gears in a match when needed!
Agreed. Austria did their homework well. Kept the De Paul and Messi connection broken through-out the game but in the end could not control Messi’s connection with others. But even among many positives, what is worrying is how easily we let Austria snatch balls from us in the first half. Statistics showed that. Our defence was also delaying ball clearance to build up attacks from there. But they repeatedly failed in that objective. They fought the aerial battles very well. Even Lisandro Martinez. Almada and Lautaro fell deep to defend. Excellent. But had they been more pressing upfront, may be, some onslaughts could have thwarted early. Not all forward lines like those of France, Netherlands etc. are as inefficient as Austria’s.