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Lionel Messi is many things, including quiet for the most part. But after Argentina’s qualifying effort to squeeze into the World Cup, we got to hear from the Barcelona man.
“Everything went perfectly," said Messi. "We did not deserve not to be there for all we've done in these qualifiers. This group deserves to be in."
"What happened to us in the World Cup and in the Copa Americas was unjust, where we deserved to win these three finals and we did not. Now we are calm, we have to start working. After this the team will change, it will grow a lot, it will improve.
"It's important that we unite ourselves, it will be good for the national team. If we all work it's much easier.
“After this I think there will be a big change, I think the national team will grow a lot after this qualification. We fought for it, we suffered and we couldn't not make it because Argentina wouldn't allow it."
Lionel Messi | Sport
The thoughts on the past competition where Argentina lost are interesting. Describing them as “unjust” is a pretty revealing look into how Messi views the last few years of international play. It really shows how big losses stick with amazing athletes.
Directly after an amazing hat-trick performance that was superhuman, Messi is still frustrated with past losses. We’ll have to see how that frustration develops in light of next year’s World Cup, which thankfully, will include Messi and Argentina.