Lionel Messi admits he immediately regretted his defiant celebration after Argentina’s World Cup quarter-final goal against the Netherlands.
Messi converted a penalty to give Argentina a 2-1 lead in the second half of the match in Qatar and celebrated by covering his ears. The celebration was aimed at Dutch coach Louis van Gaal, who had criticized the star striker’s work without the ball before the match.
Messi told ESPN: “ I did the “Topo Gigio” (goal celebration in which a player raises their hands to their ears to challenge someone) right away and automatically regretted it. As soon as I did it, I was like, “What an idiot. They can still equalize.’ These are things that happen often.”
Messi’s fears came true at the end of the second half, when Wout Weghorst scored to make it 2-2, leading to extra time and then a penalty shootout. Argentina won the penalty shootout 4-3, then beat Croatia in the quarter-finals before Messi helped them beat France on penalties.
