Rojo wants to make amends for Brazil failure

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Kolkata, June 8: Argentina defender Marcos Rojo has admitted that his team wants to make amends for failing to win Brazil World Cup by winning the 2018 edition starting in Russia on June 14.

The Latin American country was so close to winning their third World Cup trophy in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil as they reached the final.

But, in the final, they were crestfallen after losing to Germany in the extra-time where Mario Gotze scored the tournament decisive goal in the 113th minute.

Now, four years later, Rojo wants to atone for that moment by winning the 2018 World Cup trophy. The 28-year-old Manchester United defender has played 56 matches for Argentina and was an important member in the runners-up team of the previous World Cup.

Before going to play his second World Cup tournament, Rojo told his Premier League club website, “Obviously, it’s a really important thing and a big deal for any Argentinian to wear that shirt. We really feel the shirt a lot and we defend our colours.

“We give everything when we are wearing it and we want payback for the way things happened at the last World Cup. We will do everything to give our fans the possibility to celebrate winning the trophy again.”

The Russia tournament will be the 17th appearance for Argentina in the quadrennial extravaganza. They have been crown champions twice -- 1978 and 1986.

In the 2018 edition, Argentina are drawn in Group D along with Iceland, Croatia and Nigeria. The CONMEBOL side will begin their campaign in this tournament against Iceland on June 16 at Moscow. Later, they will face Croatia on June 21 (at Nizhny Novgorod) and Nigeria on June 26 (at Saint Petersburg).

While Rojo admits it will be a difficult group, he is also hopeful on their star skipper Lionel Messi to deliver something special.

“We've got Nigeria again. I think it’s three or four times now we’ve been drawn with Nigeria and it'll be a difficult group. Croatia and Iceland are in there too. Hopefully, Lionel Messi will be in form and can do something for us,” Rojo added.