Argentina captain Lionel Messi has often been criticised for not singing his country's national anthem, but on Friday he somewhat surprisingly joined in for the chorus, and later explained why he did so.
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The Argentine is currently at the 2019 Copa America, where the Albiceleste are set to face bitter rivals Brazil in the semi-finals on Tuesday night.
Argentina were the only side to score in the quarter-finals, beating Venezuela 2-0, while the other three clashes were decided on penalties after 0-0 stalemates.
Messi, meanwhile, surprised many ahead of the game against the Venezuelans when he was seen singing his country's national anthem after previously explaining that he does not need to sing it to be motivated to play for the team.
"Today I felt like it, so I sang (the national anthem)," he said in the mixed zone after the game, as quoted by Marca.
Click through the gallery below to see a starting XI of Argentina stars who were snubbed for the Copa America:
The Argentina captain, though, also admitted he is not playing his best Copa America so far.
"The truth is that it's not been my best Copa America, not what I expected," he explained.
"We know it is fundamental that if we want to play the top three, we must run and help in defence.
"It is a cup match, anyone beats anyone. It is difficult to play, the pitches are bad. It is a shame that all the pitches are like this in a Copa America."
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Argentina and Brazil will lock horns on Wednesday morning at 2:30 SA time, when Messi and company could book their fourth final in the past five editions.
However, they lost all four of their previous appearances in the tournament decider, and last lifted the trophy in 1993.
Do you think Messi and Argentina can knock Brazil out and progress to the final? Have your say in the comments section below.
