Argentina captain: Lionel Messi joked about the poor treatment he received during his side’s dramatic 3-2 win over Cape Verde in FIFA World Cup Round of 32, says that his opponents were happy to ask for selfies and shirts after the match that kicked him.After the final whistle in Miami, several Cape Verdean players approached Messi for photos and jerseys, with the Argentine superstar happily agreeing despite the physical battle he endured throughout the game.“They asked for my jersey, everything… On the field, they kicked the crap out of me,” Messi joked, as quoted by TyC Sports.Despite securing a place in the Round of 16, Messi admitted Argentina were pushed hard by a determined Cape Verde side that had already impressed earlier in the tournament.The Argentina captain praised his team’s ability to capitalize on set-pieces, an area he said had been a focus in recent weeks.“This team has shown this for a long time, it competes and will compete until the end. Today, we see the importance of set pieces, which we have not converted well recently. In matches like this, it is important. We have good headers, players who are good in the air,” he added.“Today we were able to take advantage of it, and it’s going to be important. We’ve been working on it for a while, offensively and defensively. In a competition like this, it’s important.”However, Messi was not entirely satisfied with Argentina’s overall performance and felt that the defending champions lost control after taking an early lead.“We know it will be a difficult match,” admitted Messi. “There is a reason that this team did not lose to Spain and Uruguay. We did the most difficult part, which was to find the first goal, and we thought that, because of that, we would find our rhythm. And this is the complete opposite.Argentina eventually survived the scare and advanced to the last 16, but Messi’s comments suggest there is still room for improvement as the knockout stages continue.