Argentina captain and talisman Lionel Messi made use of the opportunity to vent his anger at a whole host of sources late on Friday night.
Messi, of course, guided his country back into action a short time ago.
After fellow South American heavyweights Brazil were sent packing from the World Cup at the hands of Croatia earlier in the day, the Selecao set out to avoid a similar fate in a quarter-final showdown with the Netherlands.
And, when all was said and done, on the back of a pulsating, and at times downright staggering 120 minutes+ of action, the Albiceleste managed exactly that.
This came after a late Wout Weghorst double cancelled out earlier strikes on the part of Nahuel Molina and Lionel Messi, to guide proceedings to extra time, and an eventual penalty shootout.
Emi Martinez’s pair of spot-kick saves, in turn, set the stage for Lautaro Martinez to lash home Argentina’s fifth and final penalty, clinching a spot in the World Cup’s semi-finals in the process.
The penalty that secured Argentina’s place in the World Cup semi-finals against Croatia! 👊#BBCWorldCup #BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/0VhadAr2KL
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) December 9, 2022
As alluded to above, though, one individual in the CONMEBOL champions’ who was nevertheless in foul humour on the back of the full-time whistle in Lusail on Friday comes in the form of the aforementioned Messi.
Veteran attacker Messi notched a goal and an assist across the opening 90 minutes tonight, before too slotting home in confident fashion during the ensuing shootout:
Lionel Messi had penalty practice during the match 🎯
They almost threw it away!#BBCWorldCup #BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/vuX1K3YzVX
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) December 9, 2022
Speaking to the media post-match, however, the 35-year-old felt it the correct time to air some personal grievances.
The most head-turning saw Messi take aim at an individual since claimed to have been Dutch hero Weghorst, directly addressing the hitman as follows:
“What are you looking at, dummy? Go back there, dummy. Get back there, yes!”
According to a Swedish broadcaster SVT reporter Messi lost it with Weghorst. pic.twitter.com/m5lyVK4B8K
— Nima Tavallaey Roodsari (@NimaTavRood) December 9, 2022
Messi, though, was not done there.
The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner next set his sights on Netherlands head coach Louis van Gaal, ranting:
“Van Gaal says that they play good football, but what he did was put tall people on and hit long balls.”
And last on the hit-list of Argentina’s captain was referee Mateu Lahoz, who caught headlines after remarkably dishing out a record-setting 15 yellow cards:
“People saw what happened. I think FIFA must take care of this, it cannot put a referee like that for a match of such magnitude, of such importance. The referee cannot fail to be up to the task. “
Lionel Messi on Mateu Lahoz:
“People saw what happened. I think FIFA must take care of this, it cannot put a referee like that for a match of such magnitude, of such importance. The referee cannot fail to be up to the task. ” pic.twitter.com/4tTeJcq18Q
— total Barça (@totalBarca) December 9, 2022
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