Lionel Messi's Argentina received heaps of support from the tennis maestro Rafael Nadal who showed unmitigated faith in the Argentinians after their gut-wrenching loss to Saudi Arabia in the FIFA World Cup opener on Tuesday. It was an upset for ages as Argentina, which is ranked number three in the world, lost to no.48 ranked Saudi Arabia, not to mention this happens to be Messi's swansong FIFA World Cup which has got off to an erroneous start. The Spanish icon has extended his support to Argentina as he is all too familiar with the ups and downs in a tournament and how to bounce back from a disappointing game.
Argentina's great Lionel Messi gave Argentina a goal lead by converting a penalty but the Saudis made a fantastic comeback that stunned the Argentinians with two goals in the second half and pulled off a victory against the odds.
Despite the loss which ended the 36 games unbeaten streak of Argentina, Nadal is confident that the Argentinians are in the tournament for the long haul as this defeat does not mean the end of the world.
"I'm not one for extremes, neither too much euphoria nor too much catastrophe. The world hasn't changed... They simply lost a game and there are two to go. The least they deserve is confidence and respect,” Nadal was quoted as saying.
Messi led Argentina are the champions of the Copa America 2021 and the king of clay believes that they have no reason to lose belief so soon.
"They come from being champions of America, from having one of the best winning streaks in history, so why lose confidence? I still think Argentina is a clear candidate to go far," he stated.
Nadal won the French Open and Australian Open 2022, lauded Messi for being an inexhaustible stalwart of the game and has seen him play for his home club Real Madrid in La Liga.
"Messi took things away from Real for years, but in the end, as a sports lover, you appreciate someone so special. In LaLiga we've been lucky enough to enjoy him in the best years of his sporting career. He has given us special moments in the world of sport, he's one of the top players in the history of football and sport," Nadal added.
Argentina’s next match in Group C is against Mexico on Saturday, November 26 at Lusail Stadium.
