Messi: Maradona 'pushes us from heaven'
Argentina's progress to the semi-finals of the World Cup has led Lionel Messi to say that Diego Maradona is "pushing us out of heaven".
Argentina have not won the tournament since Maradona inspired his second triumph in 1986, and this is the first final since his death two years ago.
The Albiceleste captain Messi has long been compared to the country's other great No.10, with his performances in Qatar encouraging optimism of a long-awaited third title.
Messi provided a sensational assist for Nahuel Molina against the Netherlands in the quarter-finals on Friday and then doubled his side's lead from the penalty spot.
But Argentina had a big scare as Wout Weghorst's spectacular brace sent them level on penalties.
Emiliano Martinez made two saves, allowing Argentina to work their way through before celebrating on the pitch in front of his fans - with Maradona front and center in their thoughts.
"We leave it on the pitch with our people," Messi said. "We enjoyed this moment here and in Argentina.
"People are full of enthusiasm, we are among the four semi-finalists.
"Now we have a weight on our shoulders, and we've been saying it from the start: Diego is pushing us from the sky."
Messi knew how close Argentina were to elimination, although he didn't think the game should have gone that far as Weghorst's second goal came from a controversial free-kick in the 101st minute .
"There was a lot of disappointment when they equalized which was very unfair," Messi said. "It came from a set piece that I didn't think was a foul.
"I don't want to talk about the referees, you can get punished and you can't be honest. He wasn't up to it and he was tough on us.
"When Lautaro Martinez scored, there was a huge weight on our chests. We could have been knocked out after leading 2-0."
Messi had also slammed referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz in a TV interview with beIN SPORTS. Lahoz showed 14 yellow cards and one red in an angry encounter.
"We were scared before the game because we knew this referee and FIFA should review this," Messi said. "They can't use a referee like this at this stage of the tournament because he wasn't in control of the game."
Argentina's progress to the semi-finals of the World Cup has led Lionel Messi to say that Diego Maradona is "pushing us out of heaven".
Argentina have not won the tournament since Maradona inspired his second triumph in 1986, and this is the first final since his death two years ago.
The Albiceleste captain Messi has long been compared to the country's other great No.10, with his performances in Qatar encouraging optimism of a long-awaited third title.
Messi provided a sensational assist for Nahuel Molina against the Netherlands in the quarter-finals on Friday and then doubled his side's lead from the penalty spot.
But Argentina had a big scare as Wout Weghorst's spectacular brace sent them level on penalties.
Emiliano Martinez made two saves, allowing Argentina to work their way through before celebrating on the pitch in front of his fans - with Maradona front and center in their thoughts.
"We leave it on the pitch with our people," Messi said. "We enjoyed this moment here and in Argentina.
"People are full of enthusiasm, we are among the four semi-finalists.
"Now we have a weight on our shoulders, and we've been saying it from the start: Diego is pushing us from the sky."
Messi knew how close Argentina were to elimination, although he didn't think the game should have gone that far as Weghorst's second goal came from a controversial free-kick in the 101st minute .
"There was a lot of disappointment when they equalized which was very unfair," Messi said. "It came from a set piece that I didn't think was a foul.
"I don't want to talk about the referees, you can get punished and you can't be honest. He wasn't up to it and he was tough on us.
"When Lautaro Martinez scored, there was a huge weight on our chests. We could have been knocked out after leading 2-0."
Messi had also slammed referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz in a TV interview with beIN SPORTS. Lahoz showed 14 yellow cards and one red in an angry encounter.
"We were scared before the game because we knew this referee and FIFA should review this," Messi said. "They can't use a referee like this at this stage of the tournament because he wasn't in control of the game."
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