Dario's Diary Ep.
5: Argentina is still alive in Qatar 2:00
(CNN Spanish) --
What happened between Leo Messi and Robert Lewandowski?
After Wednesday's cross between Argentina and Poland, which assured the albiceleste their place in the round of 16 in Qatar, that was the question that remained unanswered.
The Barcelona striker finally gave some clues.
The clash between Messi and Lewandowski during the match that ended in a 2-0 win for the Argentines did not go unnoticed by anyone: the Polish striker committed a foul that stopped the star of La Scaleneta and when he extended his arm and hand in an apparent apology, the Flea ignored him.
Lewandowski extends his arm to Messi after the foul in the November 30 game in Qatar.
(Photo by ANTONIN THUILLIER/AFP via Getty Images)
The exchange between the players, who share a story not without tension, did not end there.
At the end of the game —on a date that assured both teams a place in the next phase of the World Cup— it was possible to see how they had a short dialogue.
When leaving the pitch, they asked Messi about that conversation and he replied: "They taught me that everything that happens on the pitch stays on the pitch, as well as in the dressing room, and things we say to each other will never come out of me. in privacy."
This Thursday, however, the Pole spoke about the game with the German publication Bild and went a little deeper into the content of the conversation.
“We talked a bit, we joked.
I told Messi that (I) was playing more defensively than usual, but that this kind of thing is sometimes necessary for the team," said the Pole, who also made sure to continue his World Cup career after the match between Mexico and Saudi Arabia that was played simultaneously with Argentina against Poland.
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Previously, after the end of the game, Lewandowski had refused to delve into his exchange with Messi.
Argentina went to the round of 16 and is already thinking about Australia 7:19
The football rivalry of Messi and Lewandowski
The two soccer stars arrived at the World Cup in Qatar with a rivalry that, according to multiple reports, dates back to the 2021 Ballon d'Or. After suspending the award ceremony due to the pandemic in 2020, France Football awarded the prestigious award to Leo Messi last year for the seventh time in his career.
Lewandowski, then a Bayern Munich player, was awarded the best forward of the year award.
Messi said at the award ceremony that Lewandowski deserved the 2020 Ballon d'Or and that the magazine that awards the award should give it to him.
This year, the captain of the Poland team won The Best award from FIFA for the second consecutive year, beating Messi and Mohamed Salah.
After the game the two players could be seen sharing a brief dialogue.
(Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)
Unlike the Ballon d'Or, The Best is defined, according to FIFA, with an international jury "made up of the current coaches of all the men's national teams, the current captains of all the men's national teams and a specialized journalist from each territory represented for a national team". Messi voted for Neymar, Kylian Mbappé and Karim Benzema, and when Lewandowski was asked about it, the captain said: "For the Ballon d'Or I think he voted for me in second position, but now he has decided to vote differently way.
I can't say much more about this.
Yes, I can say that I voted for him in second position last night."
This Tuesday, before the duel between Poland and Argentina, the coach of the European team, Czeslaw Michniewicz, had insisted that it was a confrontation between two teams and not between two forwards.
"Since the groups were drawn, the whole world has been waiting to see this match (...) It is a match between Poland and Argentina, not between Lewandowski and Messi," Michniewicz said at a press conference.
And he added: "It is not a tennis match in which they are going to play one against one and everyone is going to wait to see who can hit an ace or a nice lob. Robert needs his teammates and Messi too."
Leo MessiRobert LewandowskiArgentina National Team
