Argentina vs Paraguay: Nicolas Otamendi's goal gets 1-0 win in Messi's return

Argentina, the defending World Cup champions, took to the field against Paraguay for the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying match on Thursday night at the Mâs Monumental in Buenos Aires. The game marked the return of Lionel Messi from his return from injury, who had last played against Ecuador on September 7.

In a match that lived up to the hype, Messi came off the bench in the second half, and Argentina secured a dominant 1-0 win over Paraguay. In the third minute, Nicolás Otamendi delivered a powerful strike from the right side of the box, earning his first goal in the World Cup qualifying matches.

This early goal set the stage for an impressive performance by Argentina. They took control of the game in the first half and ended with a staggering 75% possession. Paraguay struggled to hold onto the ball, managing just one shot on goal throughout the night.


Paraguay's Antonio Sanabria appeared to spit at Messi during the game when he had his back turned.



"No, no. Truthfully, I didn't see it. They told me in the locker room that one of them spit at me," Messi said. "The truth is, I don't know who he is ... I don't know who this boy is," Messi said.

Messi also said he didn't want to give the situation much attention and that it was better to leave it at that.

Messi came close to scoring three times during the second half. In the 76th minute, his corner kick nearly found the net but bounced off the top corner of the post. Later, Coronel blocked a shot from outside the box, and Messi's final free kick of the game deflected off the left post.

Argentina's solid defense throughout the night resulted in their goalkeeper, Emiliano Martínez, breaking a national team record. He achieved 609 minutes without conceding a goal, a streak that dates back to the World Cup final against France last December.

Despite numerous opportunities after Otamendi's goal, Argentina couldn't find the net again. Forward Lautaro Martínez had a promising chance in the 16th minute, but Paraguay's goalkeeper, Carlos Coronel, made one of his three crucial saves to keep his team in the game.

Argentina's next-best attempt of the first half came from Nicolás González, whose shot narrowly missed the far post of the goal by a foot in the 45th minute.

Argentina will continue its CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying campaign with a match against Peru on October 17.