MIAMI — Lionel Messi felt at home today.
The Argentina superstar and his teammates were set for a training session Saturday after a 3-2 win over Cape Verde, a team that pushed the defending champions all the way to extra time and answered a goal there before Argentina was able to edge out the victory. However, it ended up being a gym day because of thunderstorms in the Fort Lauderdale area.
After the match, Messi said that the game had taken its toll on the Argentina squad, with the locker room full of players who felt drained by the push needed to get past Cape Verde and the South Florida heat in a game that started at 6 p.m. local time.
"Tiredness, a lot of tiredness. We put in a huge effort, honestly. It was a bit of everything, a bit of frustration for the match, happiness for having passed," Messi said after the match. "I think we suffered too much but as I said before, this is the World Cup and we're ready for that as well. But it was a bit of that, some frustration for how the match went because we didn't expect to have that much pressure and happy for going through."