Lionel Messi happy to qualify for semifinals
Lionel Messi appreciated the struggles his squad had to go through to reach the World Cup semifinals following an exciting penalty shootout victory over the Netherlands.
“We are ecstatic,” Messi continued. We went through a lot, but it’s a World Cup quarterfinal, so we endured what was necessary to advance.
According to Xinhua, Messi was the star of the game after assisting Nahuel Molina for the game’s first goal and scoring Argentina’s second penalty with only 17 minutes remaining.
Before a late Dutch comeback that saw Wout Weghorst score twice in the final ten seconds of regulation time to force extra time and penalties, the game appeared to be over. “We approach each game with the same level of fervour and desire.”
We want to take the lead. “We are extremely happy and eager to succeed, and we require this happiness for both ourselves and for everyone who has supported us,” he said. When the Netherlands scored their second equalizer, the striker expressed his displeasure, claiming that Spanish referee Mateu Lahoz had added too much extra time.
However, Messi expressed confidence that his team would advance. “We were aware that Emiliano Martinez gave us a benefit,” he said. He then turned his attention to the semifinal matchup with Croatia, who had just defeated Brazil in a thrilling penalty shootout.
“Croatia will be very difficult. They were occasionally better than Brazil and had great ball movement. It will be extremely difficult because they have the same coach (Zlatko Dalic) as in 2018. We, the fans, are enjoying this and taking it to step by step, as I’ve said throughout the World Cup.
“I’m quite thrilled,” he said at the end. Emiliano Martinez, who stopped two penalties in the shootout, expressed his excitement. For 45 million people, we performed. We are bringing some happiness to the masses because they are not doing well economically.