Lionel Messi was ‘angry’ after missing a penalty against Mexico but hailed his Argentina teammates for their reaction which sealed their place in the World Cup last 16.
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Argentina completed a remarkable group stage turnaround on Wednesday, progressing as group winners with a 2-0 victory over Poland having lost their opening match in a shock defeat to Saudi Arabia.
Messi scored a superb opener in the win over Mexico on Saturday which sparked the revival and had the opportunity to score from 12 yards against Poland after VAR ruled he had been fouled by Szczesny with an outstretched hand.
The former Arsenal shot-stopper produced a good save to deny Messi and ensure the game remained goalless heading into the break.
Brighton midfielder Alexis Mac Allister and Man City star Julian Alvarez spared his blushes with second-half goals, with Messi paying tribute the manner in which his team responded.
‘I’m angry that I missed the penalty, but the team came out stronger after my mistake. ‘We knew that when the first goal went in, it was going to change the game,’ Messi said.
He continued: ‘We have to be calm and take it one game at a time. Now another World Cup begins and hopefully we can continue what we did today.
‘The previous game [against Mexico] gave us a lot of peace of mind and we went out onto the pitch [today] thinking we had to win.’
Argentina will take on Australia on their last 16 game and will face either Netherlands or USA should they progress to the quarter-finals.
Australia reached the knock-out stage with a win over Denmark earlier in the afternoon with Messi not underestimating the Socceroos.
The match with Australia is going to be very difficult,’ he said. ‘Anyone can beat anyone, it’s all very evenly matched. We have to prepare for the game as well as we always do.’
