Diego Maradona says Lionel Messi's second-half penalty miss was not the reason Argentina failed to defeat Iceland at the World Cup on Saturday.
Messi saw his spot kick saved by goalkeeper Hannes Por Halldorsson after Alfred Finnbogason had cancelled out Sergio Aguero's 19th minute opener.
"I don't blame the players," Maradona told Venezuelan television channel Telesur, as per Reuters report.
"I could blame the lack of work rate. But I can't blame the players, much less Messi, who gave it all he had.
"I missed five penalties on the spin and I was still Diego Armando Maradona. I don't think that they dropped two points because Messi missed a penalty."
Maradona also said Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli needs find a new country to call home if his charges continue to underachieve at the World Cup.
"If he carries on like this, Sampaoli can't come back to Argentina," he said, according to Goal.
Argentina take on Croatia on Thursday before their final group game against Nigeria next week.