On Sunday night, in a Copa América warm-up match against Ecuador, Ángel Di María scored, and Lionel Messi made his international comeback for the first time in six months, leading Argentina to a 1-0 triumph.
Messi came on as a substitute for Di María in the 56th minute after starting the first half on the bench. The Inter Miami player was unable to play in Argentina’s two previous Copa América warm-up matches in March against El Salvador and Costa Rica due to a hamstring injury.
Not just with Leo, but sometimes there’s no reason to take a chance. Regarding his choice to bench Messi for the first half, Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni stated, “It is about taking care of them so that they arrive in optimal conditions.”
In the fortyth minute, Di María opened the score with a reverse feed from Christian Romero into the net while Messi was watching from the sidelines.
“Playing against a rival like that is beneficial, particularly because Ecuador is a very good team that makes things difficult for anybody,” Scaloni remarked. “And before an extremely tough Cup, we needed to get together, compete, add minutes, and experience the feeling of putting on the shirt.”
Di María scored his second goal in a row in an international game. On March 26, he scored a goal against Costa Rica as well. Now tied with Gonzalo Higuaín for the fifth-most goals in Argentina’s history, the 36-year-old midfielder is just four goals behind Diego Maradona at No. 4 on the scoring chart with his 31st goal of the season.
Since 2019, Argentina, the defending World Cup and Copa América champions, have defeated Ecuador seven times in their previous encounters.
“These guys have competition in their blood, so the goal is to keep competing,” Scaloni remarked. It works out nicely in certain situations and poorly in others. However, you must continue to play. There’s always something to aim for. Following the qualifying is the Copa América. Always trying to be the best is our aim.
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