A stunning bicycle kick from Antonio Sanabria and a second-half header from Omar Alderete gave Paraguay a well earned 2-1 home win over Argentina in South American World Cup qualifiers on Thursday.
Argentina took the lead through Lautaro Martinez 11 minutes into the game, but Paraguay soon levelled after Gustavo Velazquez’s cross found Eduardo Sanabria, who unleashed a superb overhead kick that left goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez helpless.
The shocked visitors struggled to find their feet and two minutes after the break, Paraguay defender Alderete headed in from a free kick following a foul by substitute Leonardo Balerdi on Julio Enciso.
While Messi could not help his team avoid a 2-1 defeat at Paraguay, Messi had few opportunities to touch the ball during the first half, but saw Lautaro MartÃnez open the scoring in the 11th minute with a crossed shot. The goal was allowed after a video review.
Argentina played at Paraguay with the hosts having banned local fans from wearing any Messi shirts in the home crowd.
TV footage of the match in Asuncion showed that the vast majority of the local crowd was wearing Paraguay’s red and white colors, with no Messi shirts visible in the local broadcasts.
The hosts continued to apply pressure, and gave the Argentine star some heavy marking.
Messi showed he was upset with Brazilian referee Anderson Daronco for not sending off Paraguay’s Omar Alderete for his aggressive tackles.
World Cup champions Argentina are top of the standings with 22 points from 11 matches while Paraguay moved up to sixth place, level on 16 points with Uruguay who play on Friday.
The top six are guaranteed a place at the 2026 finals.
