Lionel Messi watched some of his team’s chances during the 2014 World Cup final, less than a year after the agonising defeat in Brazil.
Messi was named the player of that tournament after scoring four goals to help Argentina reach their first World Cup final appearance since 1990.
But he was unable to help his country get over the line at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
In what was a cagey affair, chances fell to both teams but none were not taken as the game ended 0-0 after 90 minutes.
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Argentina had a total of nine shots, but none of them were on target. Messi and Gonzalo Higuain had the best chances but both failed to convert.
Mario Gotze scored the winner in extra time to hand his country the trophy, leaving Messi and his team mates heartbroken.
And less than a year after the brutal defeat, Messi looked back at some of the chances he and his team had during the final.
Messi was shown footage from the match during an interview with FIFA.com. The footage is still a hard watch even eight years on from that final.
After seeing his shot go wide of Manuel Neuer’s post, he said: “I don’t know, what can I say… it’s a pity.”
“It’s a pity given all the chances we had in that game. We had the better chances and, well… we’ll regret the chances we had but couldn’t score for the rest of our lives.”
The 2022 edition of the World Cup is fast approaching, this will be Messi’s fifth and potentially last appearance at the tournament.
Argentina will go into the tournament as one of the favourites as they are currently basking in great form. They won the Copa America last summer, ending the country’s 28 year wait for a major trophy.
They then backed up the Copa America win by convincingly beating Italy in the 2022 Finalissima.
Messi showed his class during the game by providing two assists.
They are currently in a 32 game unbeaten run, a run that Messi will hope can galvanise the team ahead of another attempt at winning the World Cup.
Argentina are drawn in Group C, along with Saudi Arabia, Poland and fellow South Americans, Mexico.
Topics: Lionel Messi, Argentina, Football World Cup, Football
Marcus Chan