Argentine legend Lionel Messi stated that a new Copa begins for Argentina after the Albiceleste scraped their way into the quarter-finals of the Copa America 2019 beating Qatar on June 23 at the Porto Alegre stadium in Brazil.
In a must-win game against Qatar, Argentina somehow managed to squeeze out a victory with the scoreline showing 2-0 by goals from Lautaro Martinez and Sergio Aguero.
The white and blue brigade were on the verge of a shocking exit from the Copa America after they lost to Colombia and drew with Paraguay. They needed a win to secure a berth in the quarters which they managed with a not so convincing performance.
Argentina captain Lionel Messi stated that they had to work hard for booking their place in the quarter-finals, but they are safely through and looking to build from this point. At the post-match conference while addressing the reporters he said," The important thing was to win to keep going in the Copa, to get through the group stage. This will be an important boost for what's to come ... another Copa begins now."
The little magician is looking to take all the positives from the win to prepare for the next hurdle. "This victory must give us strength and make us grow as a team," he added. Messi admitted that their performance in the match against Qatar was below par but he believes that things will surely improve.
Argentina will next face Venezuela in the quarter-finals who qualified the group stage without losing a single match, on June 28 at Salvador. Qatar match goalscorer Sergio Aguero as quoted by Goal.com said," They're quite tough opponents who counter-attack really well and we'll try to be wise to that."
The Albiceleste had recently faced defeat at the hands of Venezuela in March this year. They were defeated 3-1 by the Vinotinto. So, they are not taking the Venezuelans easily.
