Barcelona star announced his retirement following a penalty miss for Argentina against Chile in the Copa America final.
LIONEL MESSI marked
his return to the international stage with the winning goal as
Argentina defeated Uruguay 1-0 in Thursday’s World Cup qualifier in
Mendoza.
The Barcelona
star, who hung up his international boots in June only to reverse his
decision last month, netted three minutes before half-time to settle the
contest and give coach Edgardo Bauza a winning start to his Argentina
reign.
Argentina retained their slender advantage despite playing the entire
second period a man down following the dismissal of Juventus forward
Paulo Dybala on the stroke of half-time.
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| Messi celebrated his comeback goal |
Messi controlled the ball and made room for a shot on 42 minutes
which found the back of the net via a deflection off Uruguay defender
Jose Gimenez.
It was his 56th goal for his country, and there was little Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera could have done about it.
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| A fan ran onto the pitch and kneels to the feet of Messi |