Messi: World Cup empty without Argentina

Messi: World Cup empty without Argentina

Lionel Messi said “it would have been crazy a World Cup without Argentina” after his dramatic hat-trick secured the nation’s qualification for the tournament.

Argentina’s forward Lionel Messi (R) gestures next his teammate forward Dario Benedetto during their 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier football match against Peru, at La Bombonera stadium, in Buenos Aires, on October 5, 2017.


AFP PHOTO Argentina went into Tuesday’s game against Ecuador likely needing a result to book their flight to Russia next summer, and Messi helped them overcome an early deficit to rally for victory, scoring twice before half-time and adding his third after the break to seal the win. After the match, Messi, who along with the rest of Argentina’s players had boycotted the media since

November 2016 as a protest against perceived mistreatment, said he had feared the worst when his side went behind, but now they could celebrate qualification. “Fortunately everything went well and we are into the World Cup,” he said.

 “We are calm now after achieving the main goal – that is the most important thing. All this time that we were away from the press, the fans helped us to be closer. “It would have been crazy a World Cup without Argentina, this group didn’t deserve it.

 The team will change, will grow a lot and will come out stronger.  “It was a relief because we were in a tough spot. We got ourselves into this mess. It was not easy to play here, a lot of things happened from my mind when the 0-1 came, but the group overcame the situation very well and was quick to take the lead. “There was some fear of missing the World Cup. We let pass a lot of opportunities and we had to decide our future in this game. We had to qualify, now it’s time to enjoy.”