Revealed: The Lionel Messi speech that removed Argentina trophy ‘rucksack’ as Nicolas Dominguez reflects on 2021 Copa America triumph & 2022 World Cup win

That contest saw seven-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi claim his first senior honour at international level. After several near misses with the Albiceleste, the all-time great finally got his hands on major silverware with his country and saw a huge weight lifted off his shoulders.

Argentina would go on to savour Finalissima glory in a meeting with European champions Italy, before then claiming the grandest of prizes at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Dominguez has said of how that process was started, with Messi leading from the front: “The story I’ll keep with me forever was his team talk before the Copa America final before we beat Brazil in the Maracana. The basic message was that we had come through so much and now had the chance to support the Argentina people who had suffered so much. There was so much at stake because we had gone so long without winning and Messi captured that for us. The Spanish say ‘you have a rucksack on your back’ when you are playing under big pressure - but that weight was lifted off us when we won the Copa America. It was a weight that the players in that squad did not really deserve to be carrying, given what they had achieved in other ways in their careers.”

Dominguez – who is now playing his club football in England at Nottingham Forest - had to watch on from afar as Argentina claimed a global crown in Qatar, as he failed to recover from injury in time, but he was delighted for Messi and the rest of his triumphant team-mates. He added: “There is no negativity about the World Cup because it just came too soon and being self-critical and honest with myself, I probably wasn’t ready to take on something so challenging. I was still really pleased we won. I was pleased for all my team-mates and for the entire nation. But I am keen to play for Argentina again and coming to Forest and playing in the Premier League will hopefully help me to get the call again.”

Dominguez has earned 11 caps for Argentina and joined Forest from Serie A side Bologna during the summer transfer window, with the 25-year-old midfielder committing to a five-year contract at the City Ground.