Messi hopes Albiceleste win will 'send strength' to Argentines

Lionel Messi said he hoped Argentina's 1-0 defeat of Ecuador in their opening 2022 World Cup qualifier on Thursday would provide some relief to Argentines suffering from the coronavirus pandemic.

Messi scored the only goal of the match by converting a first-half penalty as the Albiceleste started their campaign with a gritty, if not entirely convincing, home victory at La Bombonera.

"It has been a complicated year for everyone," the 33-year-old Barcelona forward told reporters. "With the national team we want to try to make people happy with this victory in a difficult situation."

"It was good to decompress the situation a little bit and send strength to all Argentines."

Argentina has been one of the worst-affected countries by the virus with more than 856,000 positive cases and over 22,700 fatalities.

Messi admitted Thursday's match did not pan out as the Albiceleste had hoped, rueing his team's lethargy early on.

"I was expecting another level of play, something else, but it's normal. We haven't played for a year," the six-time Ballon d'Or winner said. "It's the anxiety of the first game. The important thing is to keep growing as we have done since the [2019] Copa America.

"They [Ecuador] came at us without fear and it was difficult for us to play, but we were calm. In the first half we managed to get the ball back and if we had played more quickly, it would have been different, but it turned out like this, and we have to continue. It was important to get off to a winning start because all matches are going to be tough," he added.

Argentina's next qualifier will be against Bolivia in La Paz next Tuesday.

TV BRICS reports with reference to Xinhua News Agency.


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