A discordant note in the happy night ofArgentina. At the beginning of the penalty shootout against Ecuador, in the match valid for the quarter-finals of the Copa America and ultimately won byAlbiceleste, Lionel Messi he kicked first from the spot, trying a ‘Panenka’ chip and missing the penalty. At the end of the match, the former Barcelona champion spoke to the microphones of Brand starting with the injury suffered in recent weeks: “I had no discomfort, but I had some psychological fear. I tried to get rid of the discomfort, the pain, by training little by little. I was a little scared, but in the end I felt better and I could play”.
The missed penalty: “I was convinced to kick it like that (like Panenka). I had spoken about it with Dibu, with Rulli… I had kicked several crosses in a row and in fact the Ecuadorian goalkeeper took a ‘cross kick’ shot. I wanted to touch it and it made me angry”.
On ‘El Dibu’ Martinez: “He’s always there in these moments. He grows up. There was so much confidence in the penalties, even before the match he joked with us to be calm if there were penalties. He always has it in mind.”
Messi will try to make up for lost time in the semifinals, against the winner of Venezuela and Canada, who will face off tonight at 3:00 Italian time. The Flea is aiming for his second consecutive Copa America (and third trophy with Argentina, also counting the World Cup won in 2022).