Lionel Messi talks Argentina, defeat to Uruguay and Brazil at the Maracanã

After Argentina’s 2-0 World Cup qualifying defeat to Uruguay on Thursday, Lionel Messi spoke about La Albiceleste’s loss to Marcelo Bielsa’s side at La Bombonera.

“It was a difficult game, we knew it was going to be like that,” Messi told Olé post-match in Buenos Aires. “We couldn’t find our rhythm, we couldn’t keep possession for long, we couldn’t move them from one side to the other, which is what we always aim to do.”

Messi on Uruguay

“Uruguay are a physical team, who work well on the counter-attack, and they generated danger. They are a very good team, they have good players, they press well, are strong and they hurt us. The truth is that it was difficult for us. It’s a shame because we didn’t expect it to be this way, at home, but I’m telling you, we played against a great team; we were never comfortable. Uruguay didn’t let us play our game and we couldn’t find the space, it was frustrating.”

Brazil next for Argentina

“We haven’t lost for a long time and there was the possibility of that happening. Now we have to react. We’ve known from the start that the qualifiers are very difficult and that we could lose at any moment. And now we’re going to a difficult ground, the Maracanã, against a team that hasn’t been doing well lately, that lost to Uruguay, that lost again today [against Colombia]. The people in Brazil are very demanding of the national team, so it’s going to be a great test for us. Matches against Brazil are always special. We just want to keep growing, to keep improving, and to get back to winning ways, which is the most important thing.”

Colombia defeat Brazil

Messi and Argentina have the chance to pick themselves up when they take on historic rivals and five-time world champions Brazil in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday 21 November. On Thursday, Colombia defeated Brazil 2-1 thanks to a second-half brace from Liverpool forward Luis Díaz.