Moscow June 17 (IANS) Argentine superstar Lionel Messi said he regretted having squandered a second-half penalty try that could have led his team to victory over Iceland in Group D action on Saturday at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
The match at Otkritie Arena in Moscow which featured two first-half goals ended in a 1-1 draw.
"It hurts to have missed the penalty because it would ve been the decisive advantage " the FC Barcelona talisman said after the game though adding the draw had not dampened the team s hopes in Russia reported Efe.
"We haven t lost hope despite the draw. We still have the same desire. I think we deserved to win. We tried to find spaces in the Iceland defence but we couldn t find them " he added.
Messi denied that the draw would affect the team in its next Group D contest Thursday against Croatia adding that "we have some days to rest and get well-prepared for the match."
"We weren t thinking about starting with one point from the first match but it s the first match. No one gives anything away. It s a very even World Cup and you re seeing that because all the games are very close " he added.

--IANS nir