argentina captain Lionel Messi Jokingly speaking about the rough treatment he received during his team’s dramatic 3-2 win over Cape Verde fifa world cup In the 32nd round, he said his opponent was happy to ask for selfies and shirts after kicking him during the game.After the final whistle in Miami, several Cape Verdean players asked Messi for photos and jerseys, and the Argentinian superstar happily agreed despite the physical battle he endured throughout the game.Messi was quoted by TyC Sports as joking: “They wanted my jersey, everything… On the pitch, they kicked the shit out of me.”Despite reaching the last 16, Messi admitted Argentina were pressed hard by a determined Cape Verde side who had impressed earlier in the game.The Argentina captain praised his side’s ability to capitalize on set-pieces, which he said has been a focus in recent weeks.“This team has been proving that for a long time, they will compete and will compete until the end. Today we saw the importance of set-pieces, we haven’t converted set-pieces very well recently. In a game like this, that’s important. We have good headers, good players in the air,” he added.“We were able to take advantage of it today and that’s going to be big. We’ve been working on it offensively and defensively for a while. In a game like this, that’s big.”However, Messi was not completely satisfied with Argentina’s overall performance and felt that the defending champions lost control after taking an early lead.“We knew it was going to be a very difficult game,” Messi admitted. “There’s a reason this team didn’t lose to Spain and Uruguay. We did the hardest part, which was finding the first goal, and we thought that because of that we were going to find our rhythm. But it was the complete opposite. We lost possession, we backed down, we couldn’t press effectively.”Argentina eventually shook off their funk and advanced to the last 16, but Messi’s comments suggest there is still room for improvement as the knockout stages continue.
