Lionel Messi led his country to victory with two goals against Honduras, but the game ended on a sour note due to a first-half scuffle following a heinous foul.
A savage challenge to Lionel Messi’s face incited a riot in Argentina vs Honduras match. The Argentina and Paris Saint-Germain star led his country to victory with two goals against Honduras, but the game ended on a sour note due to a first-half scuffle following a heinous foul.
The Honduras player slammed into Messi with his shoulder, making contact with the 35-year-face old’s and knocking him to the ground. This resulted in additional unpleasantness on the field, with Rodrigo de Paul accusing Flores of purposefully elbowing the PSG player.
Lisandro Martinez of Manchester United, Leandro Paredes of Juventus, and Inter striker Martinez were among those who surrounded the referee, along with the vast majority of players, including Honduras goalkeeper Luis López.
As punishment for Flores’s challenge, the referee only issued a yellow card, and Messi was left with the last laugh. After former Spurs player Giovani Lo Celso was fouled in the penalty area, he scored his first goal with a well-executed penalty just before halftime.
Messi scored a second goal with a superb long-range chip shot, bringing his international total to an astonishing 104 goals in 186 appearances for his country. Messi’s encounter with Flores was not the first time during the current international break that he had been struck in the face.
In training prior to the match against Honduras, De Paul can be seen hitting the forward in the face and mouthing, “Are you stupid, Leo?”. However, this time it was all in good humor, and these upbeat attitudes looked to have inspired Lionel Scaloni’s team as they cruised to an easy victory.
Next week, when they face Jamaica in their penultimate tune-up prior to the World Cup, they will be trying to continue their recent success. Midway through November, Argentina will face the United Arab Emirates, after which they will begin their latest campaign in a group with Saudi Arabia, Mexico, and Poland.