Messi vows to extend his International career

Lionel Messi vowed to extend his international career after yet another bid to win a major title with Argentina ended in failure at the Copa America on Tuesday.

The 32-year-old Barcelona star, who infamously quit international football after Argentina's defeat in the 2016 Copa America Centenario final, said he had no plans to hang up his boots after a 2-0 semi-final loss to Brazil.

"This is a good, talented generation who showed that they love the national team," he added.

Messi will get another chance to break his tournament duck next year when the Copa America takes place in Argentina and Colombia, with the 2022 World Cup looming further on the horizon.

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni meanwhile insisted his new-look squad had a bright future despite the defeat.

"Without a doubt, today we showed that this group of players feel the jersey like no-one else," he said.

"To play in this stadium, in these conditions and to be superior to our opponents.

He said the defeat was "unfair" claiming that "no other team has created as many goalscoring chances against Brazil as we did."

Messi's best chance came on 57 minutes when he volleyed against the post. Scaloni said the veteran was Argentina's "standard-bearer."

Scaloni was unhappy with some of Ecuadoran referee Roddy Zambrano's decisions, not least the fact that Argentina picked up six bookings to Brazil's two.

"I didn't like the referee, I don't usually make those comments," he said.

"I don't think he was qualified for a match of this level."

He added: "If a midfielder player is on a yellow card this changes things. There were a lot of small details where the match started to lose its balance because of those decisions."

Agence France-Presse