‘This wound will take time to heal’: Messi breaks silence with emotional message

Sports Desk: Argentina’s dream of retaining the World Cup title has been shattered. A day after losing the final to Spain, captain Lionel Messi broke his silence and expressed his emotions. The Argentine superstar said the pain of the defeat is very deep, but he remains proud of the team’s journey, including reaching two consecutive World Cup finals. He also congratulated Spain on winning the title.

In an Instagram post, Messi wrote, “This pain is very great, and this wound will take time to heal. But I want to remember the positive things. The moments when we fought back, gave everything on the field, and gave our maximum effort will stay with us forever. The support of the entire country, along with the hard work and dedication of this team, helped us once again establish ourselves among the best in the world. Today, we may not fully understand the value of what we have achieved, but this team has played in two consecutive World Cup finals.”

Messi also expressed gratitude to the supporters. He said, “From the bottom of my heart, thank you for every message of support and every good wish. Once again, we were able to unite the entire country and share the pride of being Argentine together. At the same time, I congratulate Spain on winning the World Cup.”

Argentina, the 2022 World Cup champions, showed remarkable determination in their campaign to defend the title. In the knockout stage, they came back from two goals down to defeat Egypt in the Round of 16. Then, with a dramatic late comeback in the semifinal, they defeated England to reach the World Cup final for the second consecutive time.

However, Spain, under the guidance of Luis de la Fuente, ended Argentina’s dream of retaining the trophy. In the final held at the New York–New Jersey Stadium, Ferran Torres scored in the 106th minute of extra time to secure a 1–0 victory for Spain. With the win, La Roja claimed their second World Cup title and also set a new record as a European team by remaining unbeaten for 38 consecutive matches.