Argentina player ratings vs Ecuador: Lionel Messi the hero yet again as midfield flexes its muscles
The world champions' hero did what he's always done while La Albiceleste's midfield ran the show beneath him.
With the 2022 World Cup now behind them, Argentina's road to defending their title began on Thursday night. They hosted Ecuador in their first World Cup qualifier of this cycle, and as the match wore on, it became abundantly clear that the defending World Cup winners would need a hero.
There's no prize for guessing who that hero would inevitably. It's exactly who you'd imagine.
Lionel Messi scored a stunning late free kick in Thursday's CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying opener, lifting his side to a 1-0 win over a very composed Ecuador side. The world champions were far from their best on this night, and Ecuador were more than good enough to contain them for large stretches, but, when one team has Messi in this kind of form, sometimes that's all it takes.
The Argentine captain wasn't the only standout, though. The attack, by and large, sputtered, but Argentina's midfield was as good as advertised. The trio of Rodrigo de Paul, Enzo Fernandez and Alexis Mac Allister have carried on momentum from last winter's World Cup and put in quite a shift to help their side to a win.
That's one win down for Argentina. They'll need more on this road to 2026 but, courtesy of their captain and hero, they're off to a solid start.
GOAL rates Argentina's players from the Estadio Monumental...
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