Lionel Messi has declared on Friday that playing against Bolivia in La Paz was "impossible" but that it is not an excuse for their 6-1 thrashing.
Argentina were completely outclassed by their hosts and looked a shadow of the side that had destroyed Venezuela a few days earlier.
Speaking to Tyc Sports before they flew back to join their respective club sides, many of the players reflected on the defeat, including Messi.
"Personally, I think that it is impossible to play there, even though there are players who go there and play. That cannot be an excuse for the loss though," he mused.
"We did not expect to lose like that. It cost us to play in La Paz but for them it was alright. We are hurt by how the game turned out. We have to continue ahead, to keep doing the good things that this team does and then to correct our mistakes."
Whilst Messi was critical of the altitude that the game was played at, other players were more accepting of the way that Bolivia outclassed them, such as captain Javier Mascherano.
"Bolivia played the perfect game," he said after the defeat.
"For some of us, playing at that height was new, for others it was not, but we cannot say that we lost because of it. We lost because our opponents played better and we did not do things well."
Gabriel Heinze also attributed his team's defeat to the way that Bolivia played, but believes Argentina can learn from it.
"This has to be something that we learn from and it will bring us closer, this is good and we are growing in all senses," he affirmed.
"We know about playing at height and it is not easy, but we cannot use that as an excuse because our opponents outplayed us and we did not play well."
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