We are feeling bitter, says Argentina captain Lionel Messi after loss

Argentina's Lionel Messi is dejected during the Copa America match against Colombia in Salvador, Brazil on Saturday. Pic/AFP

Salvador (Brazil): Lionel Messi said his team were feeling bitter after Argentina lost their opening Copa America match 2-0 to Colombia despite dominating the second half.

Goals from Roger Martinez and Duvan Zapata in the final 20 minutes gave Colombia their first tournament victory over Argentina in 20 years as Messi's hopes of finally landing a major international tournament after losing in four finals suffered a serious blow.

Colombia's Roger Martinez (right) celebrates scoring against Argentina on Saturday. Pic/AFP

"We leave here feeling bitter," said Messi following the Group B clash in Salvador. "In the second half we had our chances."

One of the best of those fell to the Barcelona icon but he headed wide after Colombia's goalkeeper David Ospina got down quickly to push out a header from centre-back
Nicolas Otamendi.

But although Argentina dominated possession and created more chances in the second period, they rarely caused Ospina any serious concerns.

"We didn't want to start this way, obviously, but now we have to lift our heads and keep going," said the five-time Ballon d'Or winner, who lined up in an enviable forward trio with Manchester City's Sergio Aguero and Angel Di Maria of Paris Saint-Germain.

"In the first half we retreated a little and were holding on, but in the second we really opened up," said Messi, the Argentina captain. "Whenever you lose it's hard for us, we usually take it badly. Now we have to think about Paraguay."

Argentina can still make the knock-out stages with games against Paraguay and guests Qatar, the Asian champions, to come.

Here are some reactions to Argentina's shock loss:

With inputs from AFP

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