Argentina men’s national football team captain Lionel Messi said the team “always goes out to win” regardless of the opponent, and admitted he’s thrilled to have secured qualification to the World Cup 2026 knockout stages as it means “a quieter week” for the squad.

The Albiceceste beat Austria 2-0 in its second group stage match of the tournament, enough to see them off to the round of 32, where they’ll face off against the second-placed team in Group H — currently Uruguay.

“I’m very happy for the win,” said Messi. “We knew it was going to be a tough match, where we couldn’t allow ourselves to relax at any point because they work very hard.

The Argentine captain said “nobody is gifting anything” in this World Cup, which has seen favorites like Brazil, Spain and Portugal drop points to underdogs such as Morocco, Cape Verde and RD Congo respectively.

“This match was like that, it was very hard fought and we struggled to play our game,” added Messi. “The key was to secure qualification. We’re Argentina and we always go out to win against anyone, but we knew it wasn’t going to be easy.”

Asked if he enjoys what’s likely to be his last World Cup appearance as something special, the star from Rosario, Santa Fe, said everyone in the Argentina camp does.

“This whole team goes through each day knowing it’s special,” he said. “and it has been like that since it started.”

He said whenever they get to meet at training camp, they enjoy being together, competing, and seeing the fans cheer.

“We’ve been able to give [the fans] some special moments,” he said. “We’ll try to keep it going. We go step by step, this is long and difficult, and we prepare for each game regardless of who’s the rival and where we’re playing.”

Scaloni: ‘If kids feel identified with this team, that’s great’

For his part, Argentina head coach Scaloni looked pleased with the result, but cautious not to get ahead of himself as usual.

“The last goal settled the match at a tricky point, and gave us some peace of mind,” he said at the press conference. “I’m happy with Messi’s goal, and for the team. We showed that when we need to dig in our heels, we do. 

He said that when Austria took the ball away from his team, they endured it and gave credit to his players for “knowing what needed to be done at every turn,” and that securing qualification “looked easy on paper, but it hasn’t been.”

Asked if it’s time to get hopeful about a title, Scaloni refused to give in to it and simply said the fans “are just thrilled to see the team.”

“I think if kids feel identified with this team, that’s great. For them to see how they play, how they give it their all, and that’s the biggest thing they can take from it,” he said.

Scaloni insisted that qualification “changes nothing” for him and his staff ahead of the last group-stage game against Jordan, set for Saturday at 11 p.m. Argentina time.

“We all would’ve accepted these results beforehand, but we’ll analyze the situation,” he said. “The idea is always to have everyone play; they all deserve it, and if the game allows for it, we’ll do it.”

Cover image: Seleccion Argentina Twitter