"We all suffer from criticism. Lionel has been claimed to lack a sense of responsibility, but that’s not true. If only everybody could see Lionel the way we do: he suffers and cries because of that. Criticism hits hard both him and us," Cuccittini was cited by Spain's AS sports newspaper as saying.
On June 16, Argentina drew a 1-1 tie with Iceland. During the 64th minute of the clash, Messi failed to score a penalty, with his shot returned by the Icelandic goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson.
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The Argentinian national team is playing in group D, facing three rivals – Iceland, Croatia and Nigeria. Argentina faces Croatia on June 21 in Nizhny Novgorod, a city on the banks of Russia’s Volga River.