Captain of Argentina Lionel Messi joked about the rough treatment he received during his side’s dramatic 3-2 win over Cape Verde in the FIFA World Cup Round of 16, saying his opponents were happy to ask for selfies and T-shirts after spending the match kicking him.After the final whistle in Miami, several Cape Verdean players approached Messi for photos and jerseys, and the Argentine superstar happily obliged despite the physical struggle he endured throughout the match.“They asked me for my jersey, everything… On the field, they dusted me,” Messi joked, as reported by TyC Sports.Despite securing a place in the last 16, Messi admitted Argentina were pushed hard by a determined Cape Verde side who had already impressed earlier in the tournament.The Argentina captain praised his side’s ability to capitalize on the results, an area he said had been a focus in recent weeks.“This team has been showing that for a long time, they compete and will compete until the end. Today we saw the importance of balls that we haven’t converted well lately. In games like this, it’s important. We have good headers, players who are good in the air,” he added.“We were able to take advantage of that today and that will be important. We’ve been working on it for a while, both offensively and defensively. In a competition like this, that’s important.”However, Messi was not entirely happy with Argentina’s overall performance and felt the defending champions lost control after taking an early lead.“We knew this would be a very difficult game,” admitted Messi. “There’s a reason why this team didn’t lose to Spain and Uruguay. We did the hardest part, which was finding the first goal, and we thought we’d find our rhythm because of that. And it was the complete opposite. We lost possession, we sat, we couldn’t press effectively.”Argentina eventually survived the scare to progress to the last 16, but Messi’s comments suggest there is still room for improvement as the knockout stages continue.
