Lionel Messi rejected Man of the Match award after Argentina's 2-2 draw against Paraguay
Argentine national team skipper Lionel Messi declined the Man of the Match award after his team’s 2-2 draw against Paraguay. The Barcelona talisman was reportedly very disappointed with the fact that they threw the match away after giving up a two-goal lead.
The award, which is decided by CONMEBOL, was initially going to Messi, but after he refused to accept it, it was given to Nelson Valdez, who scored the first goal for Paraguay. Sources also indicated that it was unlikely that the Barcelona man would be fined, which would have happened on missing a press conference.
When asked by reporters about the Paraguay result, he had said, "We were at fault in that we should have had more of the ball in the second half and controlled the match, not them. It’s maddening to go winning 2-0 and finish with a draw. We should have slowed the match down when they were coming at us.”
He had also spoken about the Uruguay match, a result La Albiceleste eventually won 1-0. "Now we have to think about Uruguay and we know we must win. There’s a lot to improve and this is only the first match, now we’ve got to be calmer than ever," Messi had said.
After the first two matches in the group, Argentina are joint top of the group, level on points with Paraguay and one ahead of defending champions Uruguay.