Lionel Messi has admitted that he will regret Argentina’s missed opportunity against Germany in the 2014 World Cup final ‘for the rest of his life’.
The Barcelona forward played a key role in the Albiceleste’s run to the Maracana spectacle last year, winning the tournament’s Golden Ball in the process, but could not prevent his country from losing 1-0 to die Mannschaft in extra time.
“It’s a shame given all the chances we had in that game,” he said in a video interview with FIFA.
“We had the better chances and we’ll regret the chances we had but couldn’t score for the rest of our lives.
“I don’t know if it was my happiest moment, but it was indeed something spectacular, to be able to get to the final.
“Netherlands were a spectacular team with great players. [Netherlands-Argentina] was a very even game in which we suffered for a few moments.
“It was a very tactical match, but we managed to get to penalties and make it through. We were incredibly happy.
“We watched [Netherlands-Spain] and followed it. It was a game we were all looking forward to because it involved two great teams facing off.
“It was a great game, with a great result nobody was expecting. We knew it was going to be a good game, and expected an even match, but in the end, Netherlands won it by a big margin.
“[Regarding Brazil’s 7-1 defeat to Germany] we were all expecting a very even match, balanced and very difficult for both teams.
“We didn’t expect Germany to be leading 3-0 or 4-0 after 20-25 minutes. It was a surprise for everybody.”
