Defender Matty Cash has revealed he was gifted a Lionel Messi shirt by Aston Villa teammate Emiliano Martinez.
The Argentine goalkeeper handed the Poland star the jersey after their FIFA World Cup match.
Poland suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Argentina in a Group C clash earlier this week. Both sides managed to make it to the FIFA World Cup Round of 16.
While Poland’s Wojciech Szczesny saved Messi’s penalty and kept Argentina at bay, quickfire goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Julian Alvarez helped them secure a 2-0 win.
Speaking to talkSPORT, Cash revealed the brilliant gesture from his Aston Villa teammate Martinez and expressed his delight at getting the Messi shirt. He said:
“The best thing about it was after the game, Emi Martinez comes up to me and says Cashy, I’ve got you a present. I was like ‘What could this be’. He’s said follow me in the tunnel, he’s gone in the changing room and said ‘wait there’. He’s walked out with a Messi shirt for me, brilliant. It doesn’t get much better than that, seeing him in real life up close. I think he walked past me at half-time and I was looking at him like ‘that’s Messi’.”
Cash keen on facing Lionel Messi’s club teammate Kylian Mbappe
Matty Cash failed to keep Lionel Messi’s Argentina at bay and ended up losing 2-0 in the final group-stage match. Polan will next face France in the FIFA World Cup, and the Aston Villa defender is keen to play against Kylian Mbappe.
Speaking to talkSPORT, Cash said it was great for Poland to qualify for the Round of 16 for the first time in around 30 years. He is looking forward to the challenge of taking on Mbappe. He said:
“It’s obviously surreal [getting through], it’s an amazing moment for everyone to make history really. It’s been 30-odd years since the last qualification at a World Cup for the country so, it was an amazing day for everyone yesterday and I’m really looking forward to facing Mbappe!”
Lionel Messi’s Argentina face Australia on Saturday, while Cash’s Poland take on Mbappe’s France in the Round of 16 on Sunday.