Lionel Messi in a post match interview reacted to the shocking defeat of Argentina by a Marcelo Bielsa led Uruguay in the 2026 World Cup qualifier fixture.
Messi who was caught grabbing the neck of Napoli and Uruguay player, Mathias Olivera, was vocal about the behavior of the Uruguayans after the match.
He commended Marcelo Bielsa for how much work he has put into the squad recognizing that Uruguay was a tough opponent to beat. He said, "You can see Bielsa's hand on the way Uruguay is playing. In all the national teams or clubs, including Argentina, his style was very recognizable. And he has a good generation of players [in Uruguay]. They are an intense team and it was difficult for us to play our game. They have physical and fast players in the midfield. We never feel comfortable and we didn't find a way to posses the ball for a long period of time. So the game was played on a fast pace and we fall for that style, which isn't the best for us."
He also address the Urgarte incident on the pitch stating that the young players have to learn to respect their elders as he noticed some gestures in the match he wouldn't like to talk about. "I prefer not to say what I think about some gestures. But these young people have to learn to respect from their elders. This game was always intense and hard but always with a lot of respect. They have to learn a little bit”.
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