Football
Adriana Garcia 6y

Lionel Messi gave Argentina players team talk after 6-1 defeat - reports

Lionel Messi gave his Argentina teammates a brief motivational speech in the dressing room after their 6-1 demolition by Spain in Madrid on Tuesday, according to multiple reports.

Injury prevented Argentina's captain from appearing in the game as well as last Friday's 2-0 win over Italy in Manchester, and Messi was seen leaving the stands at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium in the 78th minute.

But he reportedly went to the locker room to wait for the squad before giving them a pep talk.

"Lift up your heads. We will come through this together. United," Messi said, according to La Nacion, which also reported the talk was well received by his teammates.

Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli confirmed Messi had earlier given a half-time talk as well, saying the five-time Ballon d'Or winner was "encouraging the players" and hailing Messi's commitment to the national team.

Messi, 30, has been criticised in the past by Argentina legend Diego Maradona for lacking the "personality to be a leader" but several of his teammates have praised him for his leadership skills in the national team.

Argentina have lost three straight finals at major competitions in a three-year span, with the first coming at the 2014 World Cup against Germany.

They left it late before clinching a spot in this year's World Cup with Messi scoring a hat trick in his team's last qualifier -- a 3-1 win at Ecuador -- on Oct. 10.

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