It hurts to have missed the penalty: Lionel Messi

The match at Otkritie Arena in Moscow, which featured two first-half goals, ended in a 1-1 draw

Lionel Messi misses penalty against Iceland/ Courtesy: Twitter

Lionel Messi, Argentina’s superstar footballer, regretted missing the penalty shoot-out during the second-half of the game against Iceland at the 2018 FIFA World Cup on June 16. Messi admitted that the goal would have carved the way for Argentina to victory. During the post-match presser, he said, “It hurts to have missed the penalty, because it would've been the decisive advantage.” At the same he also stated that the draw against Iceland hadn’t dampened the team's hopes in Russia. He said, “We haven't lost hope despite the draw. We still have the same desire. I think we deserved to win. We tried to find spaces in the Iceland defence, but we couldn't find them.” Stating that the draw won’t affect the team for their next Group D game against Croatia, he said, “We have some days to rest and get well-prepared for the match.” “We weren't thinking about starting with one point from the first match, but it's the first match. No one gives anything away. It's a very even World Cup and you're seeing that, because all the games are very close,” he added. The match at Otkritie Arena in Moscow, which featured two first-half goals, ended in a 1-1 draw.