Lionel Messi has played down Argentina’s chances of winning the FIFA World Cup this summer, insisting his country are “not candidates” for glory in Russia.
Messi was speaking after he netted a hat-trick in his team’s 4-0 win over Haiti on Tuesday in a warm-up game for the tournament. He praised the backing from the fans in Buenos Aires on the night but admitted he doesn’t expect Albiceleste celebrations come the end of the tournament.
“I am very grateful to all the people, we always felt the affection of all, not like other times that we received insults,” said the Barcelona star, per Sacha Pisani of Goal. “We all go to Russia for the same reason, the World Cup is the dream of us, of the country. We are not candidates but we are very good, training and improving day by day.”
Messi went on to say the prospect of winning Argentina’s third World Cup is a “beautiful possibility” but added the focus of the team for the time being is on winning their first game. They start their campaign with a Group D showdown with Iceland.
At one stage Argentina didn’t look capable of qualifying for the tournament, but a stunning hat-trick from Messi in a must-win game against Ecuador last year was enough to see them secure a finals spot.
Here’s the pick of Messi’s goals on the night and his excellent assist for Sergio Aguero, per the Argentina Twitter account:
#SomosArgentina De esta manera, Lionel Messi firmó su triplete. Antes, buena jugada de Cristian Pavón para habilitar al capitán. pic.twitter.com/uI8BArYh7S
— Selección Argentina 🇦🇷 (@Argentina) May 30, 2018