According to him, Scaloni’s side was also disjointed against the African side, and their lines were far apart.

“I think we couldn’t press them well, our lines were kind of far apart at times,” Messi said via FIFA’s website.

“When we wanted to jump from the defensive pivot, it was too far a distance for the center-backs, and we ended up a bit disjointed.

“They always had an extra man because we couldn’t match up, and that’s why they kept the ball and made us run, because we couldn’t press them properly.”

Cape Verde equalised in the 59th minute through Deroy Duarte.

Vozinha made several key saves, including blocking Messi from point blank range to send the game to extra time

It took the Albiceleste just two minutes of extra time to retake the lead. Lisandro Martinez collected a loose ball from a corner kick and lashed over Vozinha at the near post.

Cape Verde refused to surrender. Left-back Sidny Lopes Cabral produced one of the goals of the tournament, curling a sensational effort into the top corner from the edge of the box to draw Bubista’s side level for the second time in the contest.

Messi’s corner however caused an own goal that saw Argentina through to the last 16.

Bubista Thumbs Up Players

Bubista said Cape Verde, who were making their maiden World Cup appearance, had dignified themselves with their performances in the competition.

“We dignify what our country is. We drew twice against the world champions, we took it to extra time… More than anything, it’s being proud of our players who were dignified in the World Cup. We showed our identity,” Bubista was quoted by FIFA.com.

Gyan expressed concern about Ghana’s inability to commit enough players forward, particularly after falling behind, noting that the Black Stars struggled to pose sustained attacking threats inside the Colombian penalty area.

“We (Ghana) did not have men in the box.”

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He contrasted Ghana’s approach with that of Colombia, saying the South Americans maintained their attacking intent even after taking the lead instead of merely defending their advantage.

“Colombia were ahead but kept fighting to score more.”

Summing up the contest, the former Sunderland and Al Ain striker conceded that Colombia were the better side on the day.

“To summarise everything, Colombia deserved the win.”

Gyan’s comments add to the growing post-match analysis following Ghana’s exit from the tournament, with several players and football analysts pointing to the team’s struggles in the attacking third despite signs of improvement in defensive organisation under newly appointed head coach Carlos Queiroz.