Messi suffered more than ever

A relieved Lionel Messi admitted the stress at the prospect of crashing out of the Soccer World Cup at the group stages was the worst he had ever experienced after Marcus Rojo’s late strike beat Nigeria 2-1 on Tuesday night to send Argentina into the last 16.

Messi opened the scoring in Saint Petersburg with his first goal of the tournament, but Victor Moses’s early second-half penalty made it another nervous night for the five-time world player of the year and under-fire coach Jorge Sampaoli.

“I don’t remember such suffering,” said Messi when asked if it was the most tense match of his career.

“It was due to the situation and what we were playing for. It is a huge joy for everyone for the difficult days we lived after the last defeat. Luckily we achieved our objective.”

Messi’s quest for World Cup glory faces a much tougher test on Saturday as Argentina face a highly-fancied France side in the last 16.

The Barcelona star will come face-to-face with club team-mates Samuel Umtiti and Ousmane Dembele and is aware of the improvement needed to make the last eight.

“They are a very complete team. They have top players individually,” added Messi. — AFP