Argentina’s coach, Lionel Scaloni, delighted the enthusiastic crowd at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama, by featuring Lionel Messi. The Argentine superstar, returning from muscle fatigue ahead of the FIFA World Cup, came off the bench in the 70th minute and converted a penalty shortly after, contributing to his team’s commanding 3-0 victory over Iceland.
This marked Messi’s 911th goal in his career and his 117th for Argentina, a moment likely cheered by fans both in the stadium and worldwide as Scaloni’s team readies to defend their World Cup title from 2022.
The captain of Inter Miami CF joined the Argentina squad last week after dealing with muscle fatigue in his left hamstring. He had to leave his final match against the Philadelphia Union during the 73rd minute due to discomfort, which was subsequently confirmed as muscle fatigue.
Initially, his recovery was expected to be evaluated on a day-to-day basis, but Scaloni mentioned that Messi had started partial training with the team last Friday.
“We will manage the playing time of the players to avoid any injuries,” Scaloni stated before the match.
Ezequiel Barco kicked off the scoring for Argentina in the first half, and Thiago Almada added a third goal after Messi’s penalty, leading to back-to-back friendly victories ahead of their World Cup opener against Algeria on June 16.
Messi was unavailable for Argentina’s previous friendly win against Honduras on Saturday.
This recap includes information from ESPN Global Research.