Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi says it “hurts” after his penalty was saved during Argentina’s draw with Iceland.
The 30-year-old Barcelona star’s second-half spot-kick was easily stopped by opposition keeper Hannes Halldorsson, with the score at 1-1.
Messi was looking to match the impact his old rival Cristiano Ronaldo has made so far with a sensational hat-trick against Spain on Friday night.
“It would have changed the script. It was the advantage,” he said.
“Obviously it hurts me to have missed the penalty. They would have opened a little more, and we could have found more spaces.
“We have the bitterness of not being able to take the three points that we deserved. To start with winning is always important, now we have to think about Croatia.
“We will try to pass this quickly.”
Messi said Iceland’s tactic’s made it hard for his side, claiming “they did not want to play” but admitted that Heimir Hallgrimsson’s team “closed well.”
Iceland goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson revealed the lengths he took to ensure he was best-placed to stop Messi’s spot-kick.
“It’s a dream come true for me to have saved that penalty, especially as it helped us gain a point that could be very important for us in trying to qualify from this group,” the 34-year-old said.
Argentina face Croatia next on Thursday at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium.