'On the pitch they kick the crap out of me!' - Lionel Messi jokes about rough treatment from Cape Verde stars who wanted selfies with Argentina captain after World Cup epic

Messi shared a light-hearted moment with Cape Verde's players after Argentina secured a thrilling 3-2 victory at the World Cup in Miami. Despite a fiercely contested encounter, several Cape Verde players waited after the final whistle to ask the Argentina captain for shirts and photographs, with Messi happily obliging.

Albiceleste had been pushed throughout the match by their determined opponents. Messi later acknowledged the physical nature of the contest but laughed off the treatment he received as he made his way through the post-match requests.

"They asked for my jersey, everything... On the field, they kick the crap out of me," Messi joked, as quoted by TyC Sports.

The captain also highlighted the importance of set-pieces in securing the victory, saying: "This team has been demonstrating this for a long time, it competes and will compete until the end. Today, we saw the importance of set pieces, which we hadn't been converting well lately. In matches like this, it's important. We have good headers, players who are good in the air."

He added: "Today we were able to take advantage of it, and it's going to be important. We've been working on it for a while, both offensively and defensively. In a competition like this, it's important."

Although Argentina progressed, Messi admitted the performance left room for improvement. He felt his side lost control after taking the lead instead of building on their early advantage.

"We knew it was going to be a very hard match," Messi admitted. "There's a reason this team hadn't lost to Spain and Uruguay. We did the hardest part, which was finding the first goal, and we thought that, because of that, we were going to find our rhythm. And it was the complete opposite. We lost possession, we sat back, we couldn't press effectively."

Argentina's victory booked their place in the last 16, where they will face Egypt after their opponents progressed via a penalty shootout against Australia. Messi also reached the milestone of 20 career World Cup goals, but the focus now shifts to improving Argentina's performances as they attempt to continue their title defence.