Argentina captain, Lionel Messi, was “angry” after his penalty was saved in their 2-0 win over Poland in a World Cup group fixture.
But he hailed his teammates for their reaction which eventually sealed their place in the World Cup last 16.
Argentina completed a stunning group stage turnaround on Wednesday night, progressing as group winners with a 2-0 win over Poland having lost their opening game in a shock defeat to Saudi Arabia.
Messi scored a superb opener in the victory over Mexico on Saturday which sparked the revival and had the 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 produced a stunning save to deny Messi and ensure the game remained goalless heading into half-time.
Brighton midfielder Alexis Mac Allister and Manchester City forward Julian Alvarez spared his blushes with second-half goals, with Messi paying tribute the manner in which his side responded.
‘I’m angry that I missed the penalty, but the team came out stronger after my mistake.
‘We knew that when the first goal went in, it was going to change the game,’ Messi said.
He continued: ‘We have to be calm and take it one game at a time. Now another World Cup begins and hopefully we can continue what we did today.
‘The previous game [against Mexico] gave us a lot of peace of mind and we went out onto the pitch [today] thinking we had to win.’
Argentina will now take on Australia on their last 16 match and will face either Netherlands or USA should their progress to the quarter-finals.
