Lionel Messi was 'angry' after missing a penalty spot against Mexico, but praised his Argentina teammates for their reaction, which secured their place in the World Cup's last 16.
Argentina completed a stunning group stage turnaround on Wednesday night, advancing as group winners with a 2-0 win over Poland after losing their opening game in a shock defeat to Saudi Arabia.
Messi scored a superb opener against Mexico on Saturday, sparking the revival, and had a chance to score from 12 yards against Poland after VAR ruled he had been fouled by Wojciech Szczesny with an outstretched hand.
The former Arsenal goalkeeper made a stunning save to deny Messi and keep the game scoreless at halftime.
Second-half goals from Brighton midfielder Alexis MacAllister and Manchester City forward Julian Alvarez saved his blushes, and Messi praised his team's response.
'I'm disappointed that I missed the penalty, but the team rallied after my error.'
'We knew when the first goal went in that it would change the game,' Messi said.'We have to stay calm and take it one game at a time,' he added. Now comes another World Cup, and hopefully we can build on what we did today.
'The previous game [against Mexico] gave us a lot of confidence, and we went out there today thinking we had to win.'
Argentina will now face Australia in their last 16 match, and if they advance to the quarter-finals, they will face either the Netherlands or the United States.Australia advanced to the knockout stage with a resounding victory over Denmark earlier in the afternoon, with Messi not dismissing the Socceroos.
'The match against Australia will be extremely difficult,' he predicted.
'Anyone can beat anyone; it's all very even.' We must prepare for the game as we always do.
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REAL MADRID AND BARCELONA WATCHING LIVERPOOL ATTACKING TARGET
While Mohammed Kudus has been in excellent form for Ajax this season, the Ghanaian forward has been strutting his stuff with the eyes of the world on him.Fabrizio Romano, who Kudus faced in the Champions League earlier this season, has recently linked him with a move to Liverpool.
His brace against South Korea, however, piqued people's interest, and more rumors of interested parties followed. Barcelona, according to Mundo Deportivo, is one of them. Jordi Cruyff, who has a connection to Ajax, is said to be a big fan of his.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid had him in their sights. According to El Nacional, recruitment chief Juni Calafat had a deal in place for Kudus two years ago, but it was snubbed. Zinedine Zidane, the manager at the time, thought Kudus was unnecessary because he had enough central midfielders.Kudus' price has undoubtedly risen significantly since then.
Ajax has demonstrated that they are willing to pay exorbitant fees, as was the case with Antony last summer. Given their current strength up front, it appears unlikely that Barcelona would devote their limited resources to Kudus. Real Madrid are more likely to sign him because he is a versatile young option, especially if Marco Asensio leaves the club in the summer.
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