Argentina captain Lionel Messi has broken his silence after his side’s heartbreaking defeat to Spain in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final in the United States.
The Inter Miami FC forward admitted that the loss would be difficult to overcome while expressing pride in his team’s achievements.
Messi, who did not speak to reporters after Sunday’s final in New York, shared his first reaction online on Monday following Argentina’s 1-0 extra-time defeat.
PUNCH Online reports that Spain claimed their second World Cup title courtesy of Ferran Torres’ extra-time winner in a match where Argentina struggled to create clear-cut chances, with their first shot on target arriving in the 117th minute.
Reacting to the defeat on his Instagram page on Monday, Messi described the pain of losing the final as immense but said he would cherish the journey that took Argentina to a second successive World Cup final.
“The pain is so great, and it’s going to be hard for me to close this wound. But I’ll keep all the good stuff too… With the matches we turned leaving everything and that will remain forever in the memory, with the support of an entire country that together with the work and effort of this group led us to be, once again, among the best in the world,” Messi wrote.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner praised his teammates for reaching back-to-back World Cup finals, despite falling short of retaining the title they won in Qatar four years ago.
“Today it’s hard to evaluate what we did, but this group reached two consecutive World Cup finals.”
Messi also thanked Argentinians for their unwavering support throughout the tournament.
“Thank you very much from the heart for every greeting and for every message. Once again we managed to unite as a country and be all together, sharing the immense pride of being Argentinian.”
The 39-year-old concluded his message by congratulating Spain on their triumph.
“I also want to congratulate Spain on the championship,” he said.
Argentina entered the tournament as defending champions after lifting the trophy in Qatar in 2022. Although they fell short in their bid to retain the title, Lionel Scaloni’s side became the first team since Brazil in 1998 to reach consecutive men’s World Cup finals.
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