‘PM wanted Messi to score’

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had wished Lionel Messi would score a goal in the World Cup finals.

In an unscheduled discussion before Monday’s cabinet meeting, the prime minister told her colleagues she had watched the entire Argentina versus Germany match like other soccer fans across the world.

Though she is a Brazil supporter, Hasina was rooting for Argentina in the finals, a minister, who wished to remain anonymous, told bdnews24.com.

“The prime minister said, I know my team is out...but I do have the habit of watching the game. But I would have been happier if Messi had scored and Argentina had won.”

On Sunday night Germany's Goetze scored the matchwinner against Argentina to bag its fourth World Cup at Brazil’s Maracana stadium.

As with the rest of the nation, the cabinet too, was abuzz with talks of the match.

“The food minister was mad at Messi for not scoring and called him a lame player. But some of us protested,” the minister said.

A state minister told bdnews24.com that one of the ministers joked with the cabinet secretary for having seven agendas for the day's meeting.

“The minister told the secretary he shouldn’t have had so many agendas for the meeting since everybody was awake last night watching the game,” he said.

He said several ministers and state ministers were absent from the meeting.

On June 14, the prime minister had told the press she was a Brazil supporter.

She said she had watched the opening ceremony and a bit of the first match and was keeping up-to-date with the results.