Copa America: Lionel Messi says Argentina’s defeat by Colombia will ‘take a while to get over’

Lionel Messi has admitted it will “take a while” to get over Argentina’s 2-0 defeat by Colombia in their Copa America opener – but urged his teammates to stay focused on the task at head.

Roger Martinez and Duvan Zapata fired Colombia to victory, leaving one of the tournament favourites battling to secure qualification to the knockout stages.

“It will take us a while to accept and process the defeat,” Messi said. “We have to look at the mistakes we made, and find the positives.

“It’s not the best way to start, but if we keep lamenting and don’t move on, if we don’t pick ourselves up, we won’t be prepared to face Paraguay in the next match.”

Argentina take on Paraguay in their second Group B match on Wednesday in Belo Horizonte.

“This group is ready for this challenge and will try to succeed,” the 31-year-old said. “This group is strong and united. We can make it.”

Argentina hadn’t lost a Copa America opener since a 2-1 defeat to Bolivia in 1979. Saturday’s defeat also ended the side’s 12-year unbeaten streak against Colombia, and marked a first Copa America defeat in regulation since 2007. They lost the 2015 and 2016 finals to Chile in a penalty shootout.

La Albiceleste need a win against Paraguay to stand any chance of progression and keep alive their hopes of ending a title drought of 26 years. Paraguay take on Qatar on Sunday in Rio de Janeiro.

Messi, who put in a lacklustre performance on Saturday, admitted this his side was way off the mark.

“We allowed them to take the initiative in the first half, we were too far from their area,” Messi said. “We pressed more and kept the ball in the second half, but then they scored.”

At the World Cup in Russia a year ago, Messi looked dejected after missing a penalty kick in the team’s opening 1-1 draw against minnow Iceland.

This time around, with the responsibility of leading a group of young players in the Copa America, he showed optimism despite the setback.

“You have to take the positives, raise your head and move on,” he said. “This is just the beginning, there’s a long way to go.”

Additional reporting by agencies