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Lionel Messi has one big regret from Argentina's 2022 World Cup win in Qatar, he's incredibly honest
Home>Football
Updated 09:07 1 Feb 2023 GMTPublished 15:59 31 Jan 2023 GMT

Lionel Messi has one big regret from Argentina's 2022 World Cup win in Qatar, he's incredibly honest

Lionel Messi insisted there was a lot of "tension" and "nerves" during one of Argentina's knockout matches at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz

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Paris Saint-Germain superstar Lionel Messi has candidly opened up about one of his biggest regrets during Argentina’s 2022 World Cup triumph in Qatar.

Messi inspired the 2021 Copa America champions to their first World Cup title since 1986, with Argentina beating France in a thrilling penalty shootout win.

The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, who has ruled out retirement from international duty, scored seven times and registered three assists at the World Cup.

During Argentina’s quarter-final clash with the Netherlands, Nahuel Molina opened the scoring before Messi doubled their lead from the spot-kick in the second half.

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Messi was spotted cupping his ears with both hands while standing in front of ex-Netherlands boss Louis van Gaal after he found the back of the net for Argentina.

Manchester United striker Wout Weghorst, who is on loan from Burnley, came off the bench and scored a stunning second-half brace for the Netherlands.

However, Argentina knocked 10-men Netherlands out of the World Cup with a 4-3 win on penalties, with tensions spilling over after the quarter-final tie.

Messi pulled no punches towards Netherlands international Weghorst during his post-match interview and furiously insulted the Burnley loanee.

The 35-year-old Argentine forward opened up on Argentina’s World Cup victory during an interview on Argentine radio station Urbana Play.

PSG forward Lionel Messi lifted the World Cup with Argentina in Qatar.
Alamy

However, Messi regretted his actions during the win over the Netherlands at the Lusail Stadium and insisted there was a lot of “tension” and “nerves” at the time.

“I don’t like what I did, I don’t like what happened afterward,” he said.

“These are moments of a lot of tension, a lot of nerves. It is very quick and people react the way they react. Nothing was planned, it just happened.”

Speaking on his incident with Weghorst, Messi added: “I reacted that way. There had been many things with this player, moments of tension like these... I was in the mixed zone, it had just happened.

“I don’t like to leave that image, but these things happen.”

Argentina bounced back from a shock 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia in their Group C opener to beat Mexico 2-0 and then picked up a 2-0 victory against Poland.

READ MORE:

  • Lionel Messi and Argentina slammed for ‘lack of black representation’ during World Cup victory
  • Fans stunned after hearing Lionel Messi speak English ‘for first time’

Messi opened the scoring against Mexico in their crucial Group C clash, with the Barcelona legend admitting their South American rivals were their “toughest” opponents.

“It was the worst match we played because of all the things involved in winning it or not,” he said.

Featured Image Credit: Alamy

Topics: Lionel Messi, Argentina, Football World Cup, Football

Adnan Riaz
Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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@AdnanRiaz9

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