dpa
Doha
Argentina star Lionel Messi has expressed surprise that Germany, against which he has lost three times at the World Cup, have been eliminated again in the group stage at the Qatar tournament.
Germany beat Messi’s Argentina in the quarter-finals in 2006 and 2010, and in the 2014 final.
Four-time World Cup winners Germany went out in the group stage like in 2018. Argentina are in the quarter-finals, where they face the Netherlands, and Messi hopes to finally lift the trophy in his fifth and final attempt.
Multiple media reports quoted the Argentine as saying after their last 16 win against Australia that “I was surprised that they went out.
“They had many top players, and they are a young team that is always among the best in a World Cup.
“It’s surprising that they were out again in the first round, but that shows how difficult the World Cup is. It’s no longer the name of the national team that matters, but what you see on the pitch.
Everything is becoming more and more equal.”
