Messi made a great contribution to help Argentina crush Colombia

On the morning of November 16, Lionel Messi shone with a beautiful goal and two assists for Lucas Pratto and Di Maria to score, helping Argentina defeat Colombia 3-0 at Del Bicentenario Stadium in the 12th round of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers in South America.

Messi celebrates the opening goal with Argentina fans.

Having to win to regain the trust of fans and improve their position on the rankings, Argentina poured their squad into the attack right after the opening whistle. In the 10th minute, Argentina was awarded a direct free kick in front of the penalty area, about 25m from the goal. Messi skillfully shot with the inside of his left foot, sending the ball over the wall into the top corner, completely defeating goalkeeper Ospina's effort, opening the score of the match.

In this match, coach Edgardo Bauza surprised everyone by starting the little-known striker Lucas Pratto, pushing the two famous strikers Sergio Aguero and Gonzalo Higuain to the bench. However, this was a correct decision by coach Bauza, because Pratto not only coordinated well with Messi but also played very well with his head thanks to his tall and big body.

In the 23rd minute, with the ball from the right wing, Messi moved inside and then crossed the ball for Pratto to run down and jump high to head the ball past goalkeeper Ospina, raising the score to 2-0 for Argentina.

The joy of Messi and his teammates after Pratto increased the score to 2-0.

Leading 2-0, Argentina deliberately slowed down the game to stretch Colombia's formation and ensure safety for goalkeeper Romero's goal. Argentina's slump created an opportunity for Colombia to push forward. Although they created a few dangerous situations, in the decisive situation, Colombia's strikers finished carelessly, preventing the visitors from scoring.

Not only did Colombia fail to score a goal to reduce the score, they also had to pick the ball out of the net again at the end of the match due to a mistake by the defense. In the 84th minute, after stealing the ball from a Colombian defender, Messi dribbled straight into the box and then passed the ball to Di Maria who tapped the ball into the empty net, sealing a 3-0 victory for Argentina.

This is Argentina's first win after four consecutive matches of draws and losses. With this victory, Argentina has surpassed Colombia to rise to fifth place on the rankings with 19 points, one point behind Chile (who beat Uruguay 3-1) and five points behind the leader Brazil./.

According to TTO