Argentina’s World Cup-winning captain Lionel Messi endured a frustrating night as his team suffered a 1-2 defeat to Paraguay in Asuncion on Friday. The match was marred by a controversial refereeing decision that left Messi and head coach Lionel Scaloni fuming.
In the 32nd minute, Paraguayan defender Omar Alderete received a yellow card for a foul on Messi. Five minutes later, Alderete brought Messi down again, but referee Anderson Daronco ignored the incident, prompting an angry reaction from Scaloni.
Messi confronted Daronco at the end of the first half, calling him a “coward” and pointing his finger at him. The incident stemmed from Daronco’s failure to award a second yellow card to Alderete, which would have resulted in his dismissal.
Argentina had taken the lead in the 11th minute through Lautaro Martinez, but Paraguay equalized in the 19th minute with a stunning bicycle kick from Antonio Sanabria. Alderete then headed in a free-kick two minutes into the second half to give Paraguay the lead.
Rodrigo De Paul came close to equalizing for Argentina 20 minutes before full-time, but he failed to control the ball after a counter-attack.
Scaloni defended his players after the match, saying, “I’m not here to criticize my players, I’m here to support them. We knew it was going to be a tough game. We’re here to keep going and give confidence to many of the new players.”
“We played well in the first half, but the first action at the start of the second made things difficult. We have to congratulate our opponents, who defended very well. We are playing and we hope to get back on track.”
