BARCELONA: Lionel Messi said that he will never forget the disappointment with Argentina at the 2014 World Cup but he hopes that football will bring happier memories in Russia.
The Rosario born player was instrumental in helping his side qualify for the 2018 competition and hit a hat-trick as they beat Ecuador away in the final round of matches.
Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli claimed that football owes Messi a debt after Argentina failed at the final hurdle in 2014 and Messi laughingly agreed.
“I hope football will repay the debt,” he explained in an interview with FIFA.com.
“I heard what Jorge Sampaoli said. In fact, he even told me himself.”
The heartache which came from losing the 2014 final to Germany still lives on for the Barcelona forward, furthermore, he doesn’t see it ever fully going away.
“No, I don’t think it will ever heal,” he admitted.
“I think I’m just going to have to live with what happened, it’ll always be there.
“The World Cup provides nice memories, but also some very painful ones.”
Despite the fact the national team only just scraped into the tournament after a disastrous qualifying campaign, Messi believes the group will be a lot stronger by the summer.
“After the Ecuador game, the team feels different,” he intimated.
“Argentina has let go of all the fear and tension that came with that match.
“This changes the atmosphere a lot.”
Chile’s failure to qualify has been one of the major surprises given their incredible recent success, especially in the Copa America.
The Barcelona forward himself admits he was left as surprised as anyone that they failed to progress to the Russian showpiece.
“Yes, I was as shocked as anyone because they have won the last two Copa America tournaments,” he agreed.
“They are a great team with a number of fantastic players.
“Honestly, this shows just how difficult South American qualifying really is.”