Paris Saint-Germain forward Lionel Messi has claimed that the Argentina national team will be “more united than ever” following its 2-1 World Cup group stage defeat to Saudi Arabia.
Argentina’s 36-match unbeaten streak was snapped on Tuesday, as it failed to score an open play goal against Saudi Arabia in the opening game of Group C. Messi kicked off the scoring in the fixture with a penalty goal in the first half, but Argentina then failed to find the back of the net again over the remainder of the match.
After the match, Messi shared a message of unity for the reigning Copa America champions.
“There are no excuses,” Messi said. “We will be more united than ever. This group is strong and has proven it. It’s a situation we haven’t been in for a long time. Now we have to show that this is a real group.”
Argentina will now turn its attention to a group stage encounter against Mexico coming up on Saturday, and it will head into the match sitting in last place in Group C.
