Messi: We were nervous

Lionel Messi believes "nervousness" effected Argentina during their World Cup last-16 clash against Switzerland, but admitted the only thing that mattered was getting through to the next round.

La Albiceleste looked far from convincing at Arena de Sao Paulo on Tuesday and had to wait until the 118th minute to find a way past the Swiss as Angel Di Maria swept the ball smartly into the bottom corner from Messi's pass to snatch a 1-0 win.

Argentina will now come up against Belgium in the quarter-finals, and Messi admits there are still plenty of areas they need to work on if they are to get through to the last-four in Brazil.

"At times, [we felt] nervousness because we could not get the goal and any mistake could put us out of the World Cup," the Barcelona star told Marca.

"Minutes passed and we did not want to go to penalties."

Messi played a key role in the winning goal, breaking through from midfield before skipping past two markers and rolling the ball into the path of Di Maria, although the Barca ace admits he had considered pulling the trigger himself.

"First, I thought 'gamble'," Messi explained, "but then 'Noodle' [Di Maria] appeared and I decided to pass it.

"I do not know if it [the win] was deserved or not but the important thing is that we are in another round, which was what we wanted. The important thing is that we are still in the tournament."