Argentina captain Lionel Messi has opened up on his side’s struggles against an unpredictable Cape Verde side in their World Cup Round of 32 encounter.
The Argentine side advanced to the last 16 after a hard-fought 3-2 victory over the African side at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Goals from Lionel Messi, Lisandro MartÃnez and an own goal by Diney Borges saw Argentine cancel out Cape Verde’s goals from Deroy D’encarnação Duarte and Sidny Lopes Cabral.
Messi acknowledged that Argentina’s disjointed shape and inability to match up across the pitch made it difficult to regain control.
“I think we couldn’t press them well, our lines were kind of far apart at times.
“When we wanted to jump from the defensive pivot, it was too far a distance for the center-backs and we ended up a bit disjointed.
“They always had an extra man because we couldn’t match up, and that’s why they kept the ball and made us run, because we couldn’t press them properly.”
