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| The Argentina team was touched by the affection of the fans. (Source: Getty Images) |
For the first time since their victory at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, Lionel Messi and his teammates were able to return home to play a match.
Before the warm welcome from fans at the Monumental stadium (Buenos Aires), Emiliano Martinez, Angel Di Maria, Nicolas Otamendi could not hold back their tears of emotion.
Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez then could not control his emotions as he continued to cry while the Argentine national anthem was played in front of more than 80,000 home fans.
Not only the Argentine stars, some players from Panama also cried in front of the passionate atmosphere at the Monumental stadium. The 61st ranked team in the world had the honor of facing the reigning World Cup champion in the first match of the FIFA Days.
Against an opponent of different level, coach Lionel Scaloni kept the same lineup of 11 players who started in the World Cup final in December 2022. In attack, Lionel Messi played in the right wing position, alongside him were the duo Julian Alvarez and Angel Di Maria.
Under great pressure from Argentina, the visiting team Panama still stood firm and drew goalless with only 12 minutes left to end the match.
However, after Lionel Messi's free kick in the 79th minute hit the crossbar, midfielder Thiago Almada swooped in to open the scoring for the home team.
In the 89th minute, also from a free kick in front of the penalty area, Messi scored a masterpiece when he sent the ball flying into the corner A, causing goalkeeper Guerra to fly as far as he could but still be unable to block it.
This was Messi's 800th goal in his professional career, including 99 for the national team. Messi's goal also sealed a 2-0 win for Argentina against Panama. On March 28, Argentina will continue their friendly match against Curacao.
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