​BUENOS AIRES, July 9 (Reuters) – Lionel Messi’s words resonated inside Buenos Aires Cathedral on Thursday as Archbishop Jorge García Cuerva quoted Argentina’s captain during a Mass held to mark the nation’s Independence Day, with the national team gearing up for a World Cup quarter-final clash against Switzerland. García Cuerva invoked Messi’s message from the team’s victorious campaign at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar as a rallying cry for unity, in a ceremony that also saw Argentine President Javier Milei in attendance.
“Let us keep our shirts on, and with passion, let us bring to life the message that Lionel Messi once posted on his social media,” García Cuerva stated during the service, before reading the words the talismanic forward penned four years ago. “When we Argentines fight together and stand united, we are capable of achieving whatever we set our minds to,” Messi had written.
The homily arrived two days after Argentina staged a dramatic comeback to defeat Egypt 3-2, overturning a 2-0 deficit to advance to the World Cup quarter-finals in North America. Messi, 39, is playing in his sixth consecutive World Cup and has found the back of the net in every one of Argentina’s five matches, sitting atop the tournament’s scoring chart with eight goals.
(Reporting by Fernando Kallas, editing by Ed Osmond)