Le Abiceleste of Argentina Skipper Lionel Messi has admitted they suffered a great deal against Nigeria before they could go into the knockout stage.

Messi opened scoring for the South Americans after 14 minutes with a superb goal and he was named Man of the Match.

“We suffered a lot, we did not expect to suffer this much and so it was a huge relief when we scored the winner,” he said.

“It was a difficult match, but fortunately we went through.”

Coach Jorge Sampaoli praised the courage of his team.

“The players were really brave and that courage made the second goal possible,” he said.