It wasn't because of the injury, Messi explains the reason for his performance and the missed penalty in Copa America

Lionel Messi played the full match against Ecuador a few days ago in the quarterfinals of the Copa America. He returned to the starting lineup after missing the match against Peru in the last match of the group stage. He suffered a minor injury in the match against Chile, which caused a lot of concern among Argentina fans and the squad. Messi was not as effective as he would normally be, as he did not look as involved as fans had hoped for. He even missed his penalty in the shootout against Ecuador as he tried the panenka, but it hit the crossbar and went over. After the match, he explained that he did not have any physical pain, but he was mentally afraid during the match against Ecuador. Messi said, "I did not have any pain but I had psychological fear. I tried to remove the pain that I had, training a little, feeling a little afraid, but in the end I felt better and felt that I could've stayed. [in the match]"

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Messi spoke about the penalty miss he had against Ecuador, which shocked the world. The Argentine icon said, "I was very angry because I was convinced to take it that way if the opportunity arose. I had talked with Dibu and Rulli in advance." Despite the miss, Messi had the least touches of any outfield player to play 90 minutes. The Argentine legend only had 32 touches of the ball, but he did create one big chance.

Messi also revealed that Emiliano 'El Dibu' Martinez was ready for a potential penalty shootout before the match. Messi said, "Before the match, he was joking about the possibility of penalties and said he was going to save them. When we reach this stage, we have an advantage."

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Argentina's next game in Copa America

Argentina will play Canada in the Copa America semifinals in a few days. The two sides played each other in the Copa America opener, which Argentina won 2-0. According to Argentine journalist Gaston Edul, there will be changes in midfield and attack for the game against Canada. Messi is still expected to start the match at the MetLife Stadium.