Lionel Messi's reaction to his stunning penalty kick miss is heartbreaking to see
With his country's Copa America title hopes in his hands, Lionel Messi felt the weight of the moment. Unfortunately for Argentina, one of the best players in the world failed to live up to the situation Sunday, when Messi badly missed an open net during penalty kicks in Argentina's 4-2 loss to Chile on PKs following a 0-0 tie.
Messi's reaction to his miss, which sailed over the crossbar after Claudio Bravo dove the opposite way, was difficult to witness, seeing a player that great doing his best to cover his face with his jersey.
As the penalty kicks continued, Messi's anguish became all the more apparent. At one point, he fell to his knees, putting his head on the turf.
And the Copa America consolation prize didn't soften the blow, knowing that Chile has won the tournament's title for second consecutive time.
This is a reaction we rarely see from a player of Messi's caliber. It's tough to see any athlete in this moment, especially a phenom like the Argentine star.
Messi, who has yet to win a major tournament for his home country, is too great of a player to let this moment derail his spectacular career, but the star player did say he will not play for his country again. Hopefully, he reconsiders that decision as time passes.
