Messi Frustrated, Desperate For Win Against Nigeria – Mascherano

Lionel Messi/telegraph.co.uk

Javier Mascherano has said teammate Lionel Messi “has his own frustrations” over Argentina’s poor form at the World Cup in Russia.

The South Americans had lost 3-0 to Croatia in their second game after they drew blank with Iceland.

They now need a win against Nigeria on Tuesday to make the round of 16 and Mascherano said Messi is ready to turn things around against the West Africans.

“Leo is fine,” Mascherano told a press conference. “But as a collective, where things don’t go as we’d like, we all have our own frustrations.

“He’s human and he has his own frustrations but he’s desperate to turn the situation around.

“He wants to show the world a different image to the one we’ve shown in the first two games.

“The opposite would be to harm the team, we must seek the collective benefit, we are 23, also those of the squad.

“We are not playing well and we take charge of the results. We will not be responding to things that others do.”