Argentina captain Lionel Messi has broken his silence following his country’s defeat to Spain in the final of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, admitting the pain of the loss would be difficult to overcome.
The Inter Miami forward made his first public comments on Instagram on Monday after Argentina’s 1-0 extra-time defeat at the MetLife Stadium in New York.
Messi did not speak to reporters after Sunday’s final, which was decided by Ferran Torres’ extra-time winner.
Argentina, the defending champions, struggled to create clear-cut chances throughout the match and did not register their first shot on target until the 117th minute.
Reflecting on the defeat, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner said: “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 also praised his teammates for reaching consecutive World Cup finals.
He wrote: “Today it’s hard to evaluate what we did, but this group reached two consecutive World Cup finals.”
The 39-year-old thanked Argentinians for their support throughout the tournament.
He said: “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.”
Messi concluded his message by congratulating Spain on winning the World Cup.
He added: “I also want to congratulate Spain on the championship.”
Although Argentina failed to retain the title won in Qatar in 2022, Lionel Scaloni’s side became the first team since Brazil in 1998 to reach back-to-back men’s FIFA World Cup finals.
