Lionel Messi reacts to Argentina’s defeat to Saudi Arabia

Two goals in the space of five minutes from Saleh Al Shehri and Salem Al Dawsari was all the Oil rich Saudi Arabia needed to condemned Argentina to a 2-1 defeat in their World Cup opening game.

Messi who had earlier sent Argentina to the lead from a spot kick in the first half said in a post match press conference that there are no “excuses” for the defeat.

“There are no excuses.”It’s a very hard blow for everyone, we didn’t expect to start like this.We are going to be more united than ever. This group is strong and they have shown it”.

He described the loss as a challenge to their resolve while noting the need for his team to brace up for the challenges.

“This is a situation that we did not have to go through in a long time. Now we have to show that this is a real group.Things happen for a reason. We have to prepare for what’s coming, we have to win and it depends on us.”

The Argentines, who had seen three of their goals chalked off for offside before half-time was hoping for a more comprehensive dominance in the second half but were stunned in a less expected way.

Messi acknowledged the tactical approach of the Saudi team in the defense even as he noted his team still fell to their ‘offside’ trap despite having an prior knowledge about it.

“We knew that [Saudi] Arabia is a team with good players, that moves the ball well and that advances the [defensive] line a lot.

“We had worked on it, but that’s why we had many goals ruled out. Perhaps we did not find the right moment to avoid falling into the trap.”

“It’s the first game,” Messi added. “It’s up to us to correct what we did wrong, [and] try to get back to the base of who we are.”

The defeat ended a 36 matches unbeaten run of La Albiceleste who now need to get back on tract when they face Mexico in a crucial clash on Saturday, before their group stage ends against Poland on November 30.