Ángel Di María scored as Lionel Messi returned to the international stage for the first time in six months to help Argentina to a 1-0 win over Ecuador in a Copa América warm-up match on Sunday evening.
Messi spent the first half on the bench before replacing Di María in the 56th minute. A hamstring injury had prevented the Inter Miami star from participating in Argentina’s previous two Copa América warm-up matches against El Salvador and Costa Rica in March.
“Sometimes it is not necessary to take the risk, not only with Leo. It’s about taking care of them so that they arrive in optimal conditions,” Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni said of his decision to let Messi play the first half.
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With Messi watching from the bench, Di María sent Christian Romero’s reverse pass into the net to open the scoring in the 40th minute.
“It helps to play against such a rival, especially because Ecuador plays at a high level, they make it difficult for everyone,” Scaloni said. “And we had to come together, compete, add minutes and feel the thrill of putting on the shirt for a cup match that is going to be difficult.”
It was Di María’s second consecutive goal in an international match. He also scored against Costa Rica on March 26. With the 31st goal of his career in Argentina, the 36-year-old midfielder is tied with Gonzalo Higuain for the fifth most goals in the country’s history and is just four scores behind Diego Maradona at number 4 in the rankings.
Argentina – the reigning World Cup and Copa América champions – are unbeaten in their last seven meetings with Ecuador, a streak dating back to 2019.
“The goal is to keep competing, and these guys have it in their blood,” Scaloni said. “Sometimes it works out well, other times it doesn’t work out well. But you have to keep playing. There are always things to play for. Now the Copa América, then the qualifiers. Our goal is always to compete at our best.”