Lionel Messi has dismissed reports claiming he is carrying an ankle injury after Argentina's crucial victory against Mexico on Saturday.
The Paris Saint-Germain forward, 35, scored a stunning second-half goal to establish Argentina's lead at the Lusail Stadium. Enzo Fernandez then produced a lovely late strike to complete a 2-0 win and secure his team's first points of the World Cup in Qatar.
Argentina were under huge pressure to beat Mexico after suffering a shock 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia in their opening game of the tournament. Lionel Scaloni's side still need to beat Poland in their final game on Wednesday to make sure of their place in the last 16.
There were rumours suggesting Messi was nursing an ankle complaint heading into Saturday's game. The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner suffered a knock in the dying minutes of Argentina's defeat to the Saudis and fans were worried his World Cup dream was over.
Yet Messi has confirmed that was never the case. "I don’t know why they talk so much about my injury," Messi told Argentinian outlet COPE. "They talk about my ankle and the truth is I don’t have anything, I had nothing all week.
"In the last minute of the first game I twisted my ankle, but afterwards I trained normally. I trained normally, as well as the group, I never trained alone."
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The ongoing World Cup is almost certain to be Messi's last, meaning it's his final chance to win the only major honour that's eluded him. The Barcelona legend led Argentina to the World Cup final in 2014, where they suffered an agonising 1-0 defeat to Germany.
Messi is refusing to give up on his World Cup dream and has told supporters to "believe" in Scaloni's team. Argentina were in brilliant form heading into the tournament after going 36 games unbeaten and defeating Brazil to win the Copa America last year.
He added: "We lived with discomfort given the defeat in the opening match was something we didn’t expect. The days felt very long and we were eager to have the chance to turn it around. We knew it was a critical game. Luckily we had the option to win and it was a weight off our shoulders, a reason for joy and peace of mind because it is all down to us again."
Messi continued: "I tell people the same thing, that they continue to believe. Today we did what we had to do. We had no other choice. We had to win so that we depended only on ourselves."
If Argentina beat Poland and Saudi Arabia fail to defeat Mexico, they will finish top of Group C. If Messi and his team-mates fail to beat Robert Lewandowski's team and the Saudis or Mexico win their final group game, there's a chance Argentina will be knocked out.
As France are almost certain to finish top of Group D, Argentina are likely to face the defending champions in the last 16 if they end up as Group C's runners-up. Argentina will probably face one of Australia, Denmark or Tunisia if they top their group.
