Lionel Messi is fine but frustrated, says Javier Mascherano

Argentina’s shambolic World Cup campaign has seen all sorts of rumors flying about, and on Sunday Javier Mascherano faced the press and tried to set the record straight. There has been speculation over Jorge Sampaoli’s future, stories of clashes between the players after the defeat to Croatia and rumors the players would pick the team for the game against Nigeria.

Lionel Messi has taken plenty of headlines particularly after looking so stressed before kick-off against Croatia, and Mascherano also offered an update on his team-mate’s current mood “Leo is fine, we all have our frustration. Like everyone else, he is frustrated because things aren’t working out. He’s human, and like all of us, he is eager to change our situation,” he said.

“We had a meeting with the aim of working out this situation, to improve and achieve the objective to qualify for the round of 16. Unfortunately, all the noise does not help us. We lived in the past with that and now we try to do it in the present. ”We are trying to focus on what we can control and what we can control is the game on Tuesday, the situation is complex and we are responsible for that, we try to find solutions while we still have the chance.”

Argentina face Nigeria on Tuesday and have to win the match, and hope Iceland don’t put a few goals past Croatia, in order to qualify for the last 16.