Messi justified Argentina's bleeding against Chile in the first match after Maradona's death

The Argentine star, Lionel Messi, justified the Argentine national team's loss of two points in a 1-1 draw with Chile, at dawn on Friday, in the South American qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup, in the first official match after the death of the legend Diego Maradona.

The Barcelona captain, who used to receive criticism whenever he changed the Barcelona shirt in "tango" colors during the international matches, told Mundo Deportivo newspaper: "It was an exceptional match because it was the first after Maradona's departure. Diego was always with the national team. We wanted to give him victory and represent Argentina as he did, leaving everything else behind.” He added: “If he was not on the field, he was somehow present with the squad.”

Before the start of the match, during the playing of the national anthems for both teams, the Argentine players wore T-shirts bearing the face of the 1986 world champion.

On the course of the match, Messi said: "It has been a long time since we met together in the national team, and this is not easy.. Sometimes we were very good in pressing and getting the ball back. We played a good match, and it was difficult, and they did not create many chances."

"Since the start of the qualifiers, the development of the Argentina national team has been noticed, as today some young players appeared again, and gradually we have to become stronger," added "Al-Barghout", who scored Argentina's only goal from a penalty kick in the first half.

Argentina occupies second place on the list of World Cup qualifiers with 11 points after five rounds, one point behind Brazil, which played a game less, while four teams qualify directly for the World Cup finals.

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