Lionel Messi admitted to bursting into tears after the victory over Egypt due to the anguish from the missed penalty that almost cost Argentina. Messi burst into tears after the match.
On July 7, Argentina was led 2-0 by Egypt until the 79th minute. However, the South American team staged a spectacular comeback as Cristian Romero reduced the deficit, Messi equalized before Enzo Fernandez scored the decisive goal in stoppage time, sending the defending champions into the quarterfinals.
After the final whistle, Messi could not hide his emotions as he burst into tears right on the pitch. Sharing after the match, the 39-year-old superstar admitted he was still haunted by the missed penalty situation in the first half.
“I was really very disappointed with what happened, especially after missing the penalty. If I had scored in that situation, the outcome of the match would probably have been completely different. In reality, we still played well despite conceding first,” Messi said.
Messi missed half of the penalties taken at the World Cup, with 4 times in the last 8 matches. This was the 150th penalty kick in Messi’s career, with 35 unsuccessful attempts. The 77% success rate is considered quite low compared to the class of the owner of 8 Ballon d’Ors.
Even so, the Argentina captain still managed to make amends with an important equalizer, contributing to an unbelievable comeback with a score of 3-2. Argentina will clash with Switzerland in the quarterfinals on July 11.
