Argentina captain and striker Lionel Messi commented on his return to the field in the winning match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification against Paraguay (1-0).
I'm happy to be playing again ... It is always difficult to enter from the bench and even more so in such a tight game. The important thing is that we won, and we played well, especially in the first half.
"I come here after playing only a few minutes for my club [Inter Miami CF]. We talked and planned to see how I feel during the week. The idea is to add more training sessions in the following days ahead of our next game," ESPN quotes Messi as saying.
Argentina's national team inflicted a minimal defeat on Paraguay in a World Cup 2026 qualifying match. Messi, 36, appeared on the field in the 53rd minute. Earlier, the captain of the Latin American team was recovering from injury.
Earlier, Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni said that Messi may start the next qualifying game against Peru in the starting lineup, come on as a substitute or stay on the bench because of his health.