Lionel Messi: Argentinian Toys with Uruguay Players Using Silky Moves in World Cup Qualifier Defeat

• Argentina suffered an uncharacteristic defeat despite Lionel Messi's best efforts
• Uruguay, under Marcelo Bielsa, outplayed the world champions on November 17
• Messi still dazzled despite his side going down for the first time since the World Cup

Lionel Messi's Argentina suffered defeat for the first time since going down to Saudi Arabia in their opening match of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Argentina were stung by Uruguay 2-0 at the La Bombonera stadium on November 17 to snap their unbeaten start to the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

Goals from Ronaldo Araujo and Darwin Nunez on either side of both halves were enough to continue La Celeste's steady revival under Marcelo Bielsa.

Uruguay kept the World champions at bay, with Lionel Scaloni opting to go with a front three of Nico Gonzalez, Julian Alvarez and Messi.

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Lionel Messi vs Uruguay

Despite the defeat, Messi still oozed class as he appeared to be the only player to possibly make something happen for his nation.

He grazed the crossbar with a beautiful free kick in the second half - the closest he came to getting his name on the scoresheet.

In the first half, the crowd in Buenos Aires was treated to vintage Messi when their captain took the ball near the centre circle inside Argentina's half.

He then dummied his way past one player before two other Uruguay stars double-teamed him. The Inter Miami forward still made to evade the challenges before Araujo finally brought him down to concede a free kick.

Here is the video of that Messi moment

However, it must be acknowledged the splendid work Uruguay did in keeping the former Barcelona star quiet for large periods of the game. Uruguay has now beaten Brazil and Argentina with similar scorelines in back-to-back games as they ascend to second place with 10 points in the South America World Cup qualifier standings.

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Messi 'elbows' Uruguay star

Sports Brief has also reported that 19 minutes into the game, both sets of players confronted each other, with Messi appearing to plant his elbow on Mathias Olivera's chest in the heat of the moment.

The Napoli defender did not make much of the incident, with Messi seemingly getting away with one.