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Argentina Struggle With Nervous In First Game Back
~1.8 mins read
Lionel Messi expressed the importance of victory and not the performance
after Argentinakicked off their World Cup qualifying campaign with a 1-0 win
over Ecuador.
Messi was the hero again for Argentina in Buenos Aires on Thursday,
converting a 13th-minute penalty in the country's first match since November
last year.
Argentina were scheduled to begin their CONMEBOL qualifying campaign for
Qatar2022 in March, but the coronavirus pandemic scuppered those plans.
*The South American giants finally returned to action in a lacklustre display
and extended their unbeaten streak to eight games, dating back to the 2019
Copa America in July, thanks to superstar captain and six-time Ballon d'Or
winner Messi.
"We knew it was going to be complicated. but the most important thing is that
we won and now we have to work to keep growing," Messi said post-match.
"It was important to start off with a win because we know how difficult the
world cup qualifiers are.
"The matches are always tough. We hoped the level of play would be different
but it's been almost a year since we played together, this was our first game
back and the nervousness makes it complicated."
Messi and Argentina played at an empty La Bombonera – the iconic home of
Argentine powerhouse Boca Juniors – amid the Covid-19 crisis.
There have been more than 856,000 confirmed cases and over 22,700 deaths
from coronavirus in Argentina.
"It was a complicated year for what we are living through," added Barcelona's
Messi, whose Argentina meet Boliviaon Tuesday.
"Being able to go back and play with the Argentina national team and give
happiness to people with the win, beyond the game, serves to decompress. Much
strength to all Argentines."
Messi's goal on Thursday saw him equal a recordnow also held by Ronaldo and
former Barcelona team-mate Luis Suarez.
Suarez left Camp Nou over the summer for a move to Atletico Madridwith the
striker opening up on his controversial departureafter he scored in Uruguay's
2-1 win against Chile.
"When Atletico came looking for me, I didn't hesitate for a single moment,"
Suarez said. "Obviously I have to get used to various things, but I feel very
happy at Atletico."
https://www.goal.com/en-us/news/messi-argentina-struggled-with-
nervousness-in-first-game/1p341lyf5uap31nijrhi1azq3d
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Lionel Messi Left Out Of Barcelona's 19-Man Champions League Squad For Trip
~0.9 mins read
Barcelona have left Lionel Messi out of their 19-man squad to face Dynamo
Kiev in the Champions League on Tuesday.
The Argentine played the full 90 minutes of Barca's 1-0 defeat by Atletico
Madrid on Saturday, but was not included in the list of players who will travel
to the Ukraine for the Group G match.
Manager Ronald Koeman advised he has decided to rest Messi and midfielder
Frenkie de Jong for the European tie because they are in a good position in
their group but are struggling in 12th place in LaLiga.
The club cannot afford another injury after Gerard Pique and Sergi Roberto
joined Ansu Fati and Samuel Umtiti in the long-term absentee list.
The superstar forward is due a rest after missing just 45 minutes of action in
total for Barca this season and played all of both Argentina's games against
Paraguay and Peru last week.
Source: Lionel Messi LEFT OUT of Barcelona's 19-man Champions League squad
for trip
to Dynamo Kiev7 hours ago
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-8977633/amp/Lionel-Messi-
LEFT-Barcelonas-19-man-Champions-League-squad-trip-Dynamo-Kiev.html
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