Lionel Messi returns with a bang and proves his World Cup worthiness as Argentina cruise past Iceland
Lionel Messi scored and set up another goal in the 20th minute to show he is ready for the World Cup and help Argentina beat Iceland 3-0 last night.
Messi has been suffering from muscle fatigue and has not played since being sent off in Inter Miami’s MLS clash with the Philadelphia Union on May 24 and his recovery has been the main talking point for the defending champions.
He started the friendly at Alabama on the bench but came on after 70 minutes to a hero’s welcome from the 88,000 crowd and quickly showed the fans why he has won eight Ballons d’Or.
Messi’s first involvement saw him pass the ball to Lautaro Martinez, who was brought down in the box by Iceland goalkeeper Elias Rafn Olafsson. Messi pulled up his socks and scored a penalty that ended up in the net.
The 38-year-old played a major role in Argentina’s third game after 14 minutes when he passed to his Inter Miami team-mate Rodrigo De Paul, who then squared the ball to Thiago Almada and fired home.
Argentina took the lead after eight minutes through Valentin Barco’s shot from the edge of the area.
Argentina manager, Scaloni, gets a ‘good feeling’ after Messi’s efforts
It was a satisfying night for Argentina and coach Lionel Scaloni believes his team is ready for the World Cup which starts tomorrow. Argentina’s first match will be against Algeria on Tuesday.
He said: “We are in an important time, and we are alive. [the players] they assure me that they will leave everything on the field and continue to play as they have been playing.
“Seeing players of Leo’s caliber [Messi]Almada, Barco and Nico Paz running like there is no future gives you a good feeling. Then whether the ball enters the net or not is secondary. We can’t just think about being champions, but support us and be there as Argentina has always been. People will see themselves through this group, I have no doubt.”
Argentina won the title in Qatar four years ago and are among the favorites again, but Scaloni knows the competition is wide open.
He went on to say: “We already know that the World Cup is not won by someone who just plays better, there are many things that need to help us not just playing well, we assure you that we will fight until the last minute and that is something we were clear about.”
We will try to defend the title of the World Cup, the star of Argentina De Paul
De Paul will be a key player for Argentina and he is determined that the team will make a strong defense of their title.
“We played well, very well. We want to compete, we want to come on the first day and leave on the last day. In training we are doing very well, there is a lot of internal competition,” said the Miami midfielder.
“Argentina always wants to run for elections and people are happy, I remember when I was young, the World Cup was coming, the hope was that we could compete, do well. We won the World Cup, two Copas América, it is normal that they put us as candidates. We are very happy.
“We will leave everything we have and more to make people happy. I would like to see all Argentines united. I hope we can do it again. We will try.”
