Lionel Messi has insisted Argentina never doubted for a moment they would beat Nigeria and escape from Group D.
Argentina needed an 86th minute winner from defender Marcos Rojo to snatch victory and secure a place in the last-16 of the World Cup.
It was a late, late escape for Argentina, who have underperformed in the tournament and had been unable to rely solely on Messi’s greatness in the first two group games.
However, Messi was back to his best against Nigeria and inspired his country to a scintillating fightback.
The Barcelona superstar spoke to the media after the game and admitted the result was a massive relief after a difficult few days.
‘It was a difficult match because of the results before and many other things that have been said,’ Messi explained.
‘We knew it was going to be difficult but fortunately we have achieved our aim. ‘We didn’t think that we were going to suffer as much as we have.
We were quite confident that we would be able to go through and fortunately it became true.’ He added: ‘We knew God was with us and wasn’t going to let us go out.
I thank all the fans that are here, for all their sacrifice and to all those in Argentina that were always with us. The shirt of the national team is above all else.’
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